patent

patent

adjective

Definition of PATENT

1

not subject to misinterpretation or more than one interpretation <unfortunately, the patent stupidity of the proposal did not deter the city council from putting it up for a vote>

Synonyms apparent, bald, bald-faced, barefaced, bright-line, broad, clear-cut, crystal clear, decided, distinct, evident, lucid, luculent, luminous, manifest, nonambiguous, obvious, open-and-shut, palpable, patent, pellucid, perspicuous, plain, ringing, straightforward, transparent, unambiguous, unambivalent, unequivocal, unmistakable

Related Words cognizable, cognoscible, comprehendible, comprehensible, digestible, fathomable, graspable, intelligible, knowable, understandable; self-evident, self-explanatory; clean-cut, simple, tidy, uncomplicated; overt, undisguised; appreciable, perceptible, recognizable, sensible, tangible; discernible (also discernable), noticeable, observable, visible; black-and-white, explicit, trenchant, well-defined; clean, decipherable, fair, legible, readable

Near Antonyms incomprehensible, indecipherable, unfathomable, unintelligible, unknowable; impalpable, imperceptible, inappreciable, indiscernible, insensible; cloudy, gauzy, gray (also grey), hazy, imprecise, indefinite, indeterminate, misty, murky, nebulous, noncommital, sketchy, slippery, subtle, vague; illegible, undecipherable, unreadable

Antonyms ambiguous, clouded, cryptic, dark, enigmatic (also enigmatical), equivocal, indistinct, mysterious, nonobvious, obfuscated, obscure, unapparent, unclarified, unclear, unclouded

2

very noticeable especially for being incorrect or bad <a patent error that should have been caught before the book was published>

Synonyms blatant, conspicuous, flagrant, glaring, gross, obvious, patent, pronounced, rank, striking

Related Words arresting, clear, distinct, dramatic, emphatic, evident, eye-catching, marked, notable, noticeable, outstanding, plain, prominent, remarkable, salient, showy, splashy; absolute, arrant, downright, out-and-out, outright, sheer, stark, utter; detectable, discernible (also discernable), observable, perceptible, visible; abominable, atrocious, awful, deplorable, execrable, heinous, lousy, monstrous, outrageous, preposterous, shameful, shocking, terrible, wretched

Near Antonyms imperceptible, inconspicuous, unnoticeable, unobtrusive; inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, slight, small, trifling, trivial; concealed, hidden, invisible