Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

opacity

/oʊˈpæsɪti/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.84 in modern English

Syllables: opac-i-ty
IPA: /oʊˈpæsɪti/

14

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

4

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The state or quality of being opaque, not allowing light to pass through.

Uncountable

noun

The state or quality of being inaccessible to understanding.

Uncountable

noun

A measure of relative impenetrability to electromagnetic radiation such as light.

Countable

noun

An opaque area.

Countable

Example Sentences

"We could not see the sandbar due to the opacity of the muddy water."
"The opacity of these decisions is troubling."
"The opacity of a clean glass window is near zero."
"This report concerns a child with Down's syndrome (mongolism) and bilateral congenital corneal opacities born into a family affected through three generations by Rieger's anomaly."
"Scanty irregular opacities are not uncommonly observed on the chest roentgenogram in the absence of interstitial fibrosis of the lungs."

Etymology

From opaque + -ity, from French opacité, from Latin opācitās, from opācus.

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: opacité
Suffix: opaque

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /oʊˈpæsɪti/

Usage

Inflected Forms

opacities (plural)

Derived Forms

nonopacity radioopacity radiopacity semiopacity subopacity

Phrases

referential opacity snowball opacity

Frequently Paired Words

transparency

Synonyms

opaqueness nontransparency

Antonyms

clarity clearness translucency transparency lucidity

Rhymes With

capacity audacity incapacity overcapacity voracity

Questions

How do you pronounce opacity?: The recorded pronunciation is /oʊˈpæsɪti/.
What does opacity mean?: The state or quality of being opaque, not allowing light to pass through.
Where does opacity come from?: It is traced to French.

How to pronounce opacity

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “opacity”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/oʊˈpæsɪti/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “opacity”.
Repeat and practice — Say “opacity” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.