Standard Lemma guide

perspicuous

adj · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /pəˈspɪkjuːəs/
  • General-American: /pərˈspɪkjəwəs/
  • General-American: /pɚˈspɪkjuːəs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Clearly expressed, easy to understand; lucid.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: transparent, pervious, apprehensible, clear, limpid, comprehensible, explainable, explicable, explicatable, fathomable, graspable, illuminable, intelligible, lucid, pellucid, perspicuous, straightforward, tangible, understandable

Antonyms: abstruse, Chinese, dense, enigmatic, fathomless, Greek, inapprehensible, incognizable, incomprehensible, ineffable, inenubilable, inexplicable, impenetrable, insensible, inscrutable, insoluble, insolvable, mysterious, nonunderstandable, obscure, retruse, tenebrose, thick, undecipherable, undiscoverable, unexplainable, unfathomable, ungraspable, unintelligible, unknowable, ununderstandable

2

adj

Meaning 2

(Of a language or notation) the process of inference from premises to conclusion is explicitly laid out.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: human-sciences, logic, mathematics, philosophy, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

That can be seen through clearly; that lets light through.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: rare

Qualifier: literal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: transparent, see-through, translucent, clear, clear as crystal, crystalline, diaphanous, glassy, hyaline, hyaloid, limpid, lucid, pellucid, perspicuous, serene, transpicuous, vitreous

Antonyms: imperspicuous, adiaphanous, nontransparent, opacous, opacular, opaque, thick

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

(of language) transparently clear; easily understandable- Robert Burton

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • writes in a limpid style
  • lucid directions
  • a luculent oration
  • pellucid prose
  • a crystal clear explanation
  • a perspicuous argument

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: limpid, lucid, luculent, pellucid, crystal clear

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Latin perspicuus, in turn from perspiciō (“see through”).

Across languages

Translations

16 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: ясен (jasen) — clearly expressed
  • Bulgarian: прегледен (pregleden) — clearly expressed
  • Bulgarian: разбираем (razbiraem) — clearly expressed
  • Chinese Mandarin: 明白 (míngbai) — clearly expressed
  • Dutch: duidelijk — clearly expressed
  • Dutch: begrijpelijk — clearly expressed
  • Dutch: klaar — clearly expressed
  • Greek: σαφής (safís) — clearly expressed
  • Korean: 명백한 (myeongbaekhan) — clearly expressed
  • Latin: perspicuus — clearly expressed
  • Norwegian Bokmål: tydelig — clearly expressed
  • Russian: ясный (jasnyj) — clearly expressed
  • Russian: понятный (ponjatnyj) — clearly expressed
  • Russian: чёткий (čótkij) — clearly expressed
  • Spanish: perspicuo — clearly expressed
  • Bulgarian: експлицитен (ekspliciten) — logic: explicitly laid out