explicit

adjective

ex·​plic·​it ik-ˈspli-sət 

1

a

: fully revealed or expressed without vagueness, implication, or ambiguity : leaving no question as to meaning or intent

explicit instructions

compare implicit sense 1a

b

: open in the depiction of nudity or sexuality

explicit books and films

2

: fully developed or formulated

an explicit plan

an explicit notion of our objective

3

: unambiguous in expression

was very explicit on how we are to behave

4

of a mathematical function : defined by an expression containing only independent variables compare implicit sense 3b

explicitness noun

Synonyms

• clear-cut
• definite
• definitive
• express
• specific
• unambiguous
• unequivocal
• univocal

Choose the Right Synonym for explicit

explicit, definite, express, specific mean perfectly clear in meaning.

explicit implies such verbal plainness and distinctness that there is no need for inference and no room for difficulty in understanding.

explicit instructions

definite stresses precise, clear statement or arrangement that leaves no doubt or indecision.

the law is definite in such cases

express implies both explicitness and direct and positive utterance.

her express wishes

specific applies to what is precisely and fully treated in detail or particular.

two specific criticisms

Examples of explicit in a Sentence

From closer restrictions on sexually explicit writing came the success, in the mid-19th century, of the novelist George Thompson, who combined graphically violent scenes set in urban dystopias with coy peekaboo references to sex. —Susan Dominus, New York Times Book Review, 5 Apr. 2009

Therefore, the Administration's policy was the explicit, if unpublicized, one that it was necessary to allow Saddam Hussein to put down the rebellions. —Elizabeth Drew, New Yorker, 6 May 1991

They were given explicit instructions.

Changes to the property can't be done without their explicit consent.

The law is very explicit about how these measures should be enacted.

a song with explicit lyrics

The movie contains scenes of explicit violence.

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Recent Examples on the Web

In some cases, the link between the missions and China’s national security goals is made explicit. —Cate Cadell, Washington Post, 10 Jan. 2024

Without explicit exemptions for services such as in vitro fertilization, or IVF, there remains a legal and medical gray area. —Shravya Pant — Medill News Service, STAT, 20 Dec. 2023

Instead, the conference merely made explicit that judges must disclose gifts of transportation, like private jet rides. —Brett Murphy, ProPublica, 13 Dec. 2023

This kind of explicit support, polling shows, would be met with widespread approval from the German public. —Norbert Röttgen, Foreign Affairs, 22 Dec. 2023

While 1,000 images is just a fraction of the total, that child abuse exists in training data nevertheless aids image generation models in producing realistic, explicit images of children. —Rachyl Jones, Fortune, 21 Dec. 2023

In the 1985 movie and the Broadway musical adaptation, Celie and Shug’s romance is more implied than explicit and the erasure of Celie’s queerness does a disservice to both. —Kathleen Newman-Bremang, refinery29.com, 21 Dec. 2023

Singh and his team strove to make these concepts explicit and operationalize them. —Kevin Kruse, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023

These magi, who claimed explicit descent from the Matthean ones, operated for several hundred years on the border between what had long been superstition and what would become science. —Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 24 Dec. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French & Medieval Latin; Middle French explicite, borrowed from Medieval Latin explicitus, going back to Latin, "free from difficulties," variant past participle of explicāre "to free from folds or creases, unroll, disentangle, spread out, set out in words, give an account of" — more at explicate

Note: Verbs built on the stem -plicā- have the variants -plicuī, -plicitus alongside a regular perfect and past participle -plicāvī, -plicātus. Oxford Latin Dictionary notes that for explicāre the variants explicuī, explicitus come later, replacing explicāvī, explicātus after the time of Cicero. See also exploit entry 1.

First Known Use

1549, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

explicit

adjective

ex·​plic·​it ik-ˈsplis-ət 

: so clear in statement that there is no doubt about the meaning

explicit instructions

explicitly adverb

explicitness noun