Opaque — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Opaque (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

1. having an often intentionally veiled or uncertain meaning

   "somehow listeners seem to connect with the songwriter, despite his deeply personal, often opaque lyrics"

   similar: ambiguous, arcane, cryptic, dark, deep, Delphic, double-edged, elliptical, enigmatic, equivocal, fuliginous, inscrutable, murky, mysterious, mystic, nebulous, obscure, occult
   related: abstruse, esoteric, recondite, cloaked, concealed, disguised, masked, shrouded, beclouded, bedimmed, befogged, clouded, cloudy, dim, faint, foggy, fuzzy, hazy, indistinct, indistinguishable, misty, muddy, obfuscatory, obnubilated, obscurant, shaded, shadowlike, shadowy, sphinxlike, indefinite, inexact, inexplicit, noncommittal, questionable, unclear, uncertain, undefined, undetermined, vague, impenetrable, incomprehensible, indecipherable, inexplicable, eerie, uncanny, weird, impalpable, inappreciable, intangible, invisible, unanswerable, unknowable, baffling, bewildering, confounding, confusing, mystifying, perplexing, puzzling, unfathomable, circuitous, indirect, roundabout, complex, complicated, difficult, obtuse
   opposite: accessible, clear, nonambiguous, obvious, plain, unambiguous, unequivocal
   near: comprehensible, fathomable, intelligible, knowable, legible, pellucid, understandable, bright, distinct, evident, self-evident, self-explanatory, certain, firm, strong, sure, defined, determined, direct, straightforward, definite, exact, explicit, appreciable, palpable, tangible, visible, blatant, patent, unmistakable

2. not seen or understood clearly

   "an opaque remark that seemed to hint that there would be future retaliation"

   similar: blear, bleary, blurry, dim, faint, foggy, fuzzy, gauzy, hazy, indefinite, indistinct, indistinguishable, misty, murky, nebulous, obscure, pale, shadowy, unclear, undefined, undetermined, vague
   related: dark, dusky, gloomy, impalpable, inappreciable, intangible, invisible, hieroglyphic, incomprehensible, indecipherable, indiscernible, inexplicable, mysterious, obfuscatory, puzzling
   opposite: clear, definite, pellucid
   near: bright, distinct, evident, obvious, plain, certain, firm, strong, sure

3. not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily

   "people are sometimes rude to her, but fortunately she's too opaque to realize what's happening"

   similar: airheaded, birdbrained, bonehead, boneheaded, brain-dead, brainless, bubbleheaded, chuckleheaded, dense, dim, dim-witted, doltish, dopey, dorky (slang), dull, dumb, dunderheaded, empty-headed, fatuous, gormless (chiefly British), half-witted, knuckleheaded, lamebrain, lunkheaded, mindless, oafish, obtuse, pinheaded, senseless, simple, slow, slow-witted, soft, softheaded, stupid, thick, thick-witted, thickheaded, unintelligent, unsmart, vacuous, weak-minded, witless
   related: cretinous, feebleminded, simpleminded, boobish, foolish, idiotic, imbecile, moronic, ignorant, illiterate, lowbrow, uneducated, uninformed, unintellectual, untaught, unthinking, absurd, asinine, balmy, cockeyed, crackpot, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dippy, dotty, featherheaded, fool, half-baked, harebrained, insane, kooky, loony, mad, nonsensical, nutty, preposterous, sappy, screwball, silly, tomfool, unwise, wacky, zany, fallacious, illogical, invalid, irrational, unreasonable
   opposite: apt, brainy, bright, brilliant, clever, fast, hyperintelligent, intelligent, keen, nimble, quick, quick-witted, sharp, sharp-witted, smart, supersmart, ultrasmart
   near: ingenious, resourceful, acute, astute, discerning, insightful, keen, knowing, perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, sagacious, sage, sapient, savvy, wise, cerebral, erudite, highbrow, intellectual, knowledgeable, learned, literate, scholarly, thinking, well-read, educated, informed, schooled, skilled, trained, crafty, cunning, foxy, shrewd, wily, judicious, prudent, sane, sensible, sound, logical, rational, reasonable, valid