opacity

6 synonyms and 3 antonyms for opacity, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Noun — The degree to which something blocks light or cannot be seen through; the quality of being opaque.

Synonyms

Everyday swaps

Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.

density

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

cloudiness impenetrability opaqueness obscurity murkiness

Synonyms by Meaning

1. noun

The degree to which something blocks light or cannot be seen through; the quality of being opaque.

“Increase the opacity of the layer until the watermark disappears.”

density cloudiness impenetrability opaqueness

Opposites

transparency translucency clarity

2. noun

The quality of being obscure, hard to understand or deliberately unclear.

“The opacity of the funding arrangements is what worries auditors most.”

obscurity murkiness impenetrability

Opposites

clarity transparency

How to use opacity

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

reduce the opacity full opacity opacity slider opacity of the process

Neutral; equally at home in physics, design software and political criticism.

Etymology

From Latin opacitas 'shadiness', from opacus 'shaded, dark', by way of French opacité.

Full origin of opacity →

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between opacity and transparency?

They are opposite ends of the same scale: opacity measures how much light is blocked, transparency how much passes through. In design software raising opacity to 100% makes an element fully solid, which is the same as zero transparency.

What does opacity 0.5 mean in CSS?

It renders the element at half strength, so whatever sits behind it shows through. CSS opacity runs from 0 (completely invisible but still occupying its space) to 1 (completely solid), and it applies to the element's children as well, which is why a semi-transparent background colour is often the better choice.

What is opacity on a chest X-ray?

In radiology an opacity is an area that appears whiter than the surrounding tissue because it is blocking more X-rays, which can indicate fluid, inflammation or a mass. The term describes the appearance on the image, not a diagnosis.

People also searched

density transparency clarity obscurity impenetrability murkiness cloudiness translucency

Nearby words

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