limpid

adjective lim·pid \ ˈlim-pəd \

|Updated on: 17 Jun 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: limpid in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of limpid

1 a : marked by transparency (see transparent 1) : pellucid

limpid streams

b : clear and simple in style

limpid prose

2 : absolutely serene and untroubled

the benign effects of a limpid childhood
—Time

—

limpidity

play \lim-ˈpi-də-tē\ noun

—

limpidly

play \ˈlim-pəd-lē\ adverb

—

limpidness

noun

See limpid defined for English-language learners

See limpid defined for kids

limpid was our Word of the Day on 09/26/2015. Hear the podcast!

Examples of limpid in a Sentence

the limpid waters of the stream
her eyes are the blue of a limpid stream of water

Recent Examples of limpid from the Web

Throughout, The Staircase maintains a limpid clarity that leaves open the possibility of both Michael Peterson’s perfect innocence and total complicity, which puts the viewer in the awful, fugue-like gray area of constant reckoning.

— sonia saraiya, HWD, "Review: Whether Old or New, The Staircase Offers No Easy Answers," 8 June 2018
The Rockets have taken the Warriors-style three-point attack to a higher level, and have stiffened their once-limpid defense.

— scott ostler, San Antonio Express-News, "By no means invincible, Golden State faces rocky path to Finals," 13 Apr. 2018
For his part, Rose led a buoyant and fluid performance from the pit, drawing limpid playing from the orchestra right up through Joan’s final ascension to heaven — one last time for 2017-18.

— jeremy eichler, BostonGlobe.com, "Odyssey wraps its Joan of Arc season with Verdi rarity," 8 Apr. 2018
But the limpid sophistication of the San Francisco style is apart from either.

— alastair macaulay, New York Times, "San Francisco Ballet’s Limpid Sophistication Shines in ‘Unbound’," 27 Apr. 2018
The Rockets have taken the Warriors-style three-point attack to a higher level, and have stiffened their once-limpid defense.

— scott ostler, San Antonio Express-News, "By no means invincible, Golden State faces rocky path to Finals," 13 Apr. 2018
The Rockets have taken the Warriors-style three-point attack to a higher level, and have stiffened their once-limpid defense.

— scott ostler, San Antonio Express-News, "By no means invincible, Golden State faces rocky path to Finals," 13 Apr. 2018
The Rockets have taken the Warriors-style three-point attack to a higher level, and have stiffened their once-limpid defense.

— scott ostler, San Antonio Express-News, "By no means invincible, Golden State faces rocky path to Finals," 13 Apr. 2018
The singer’s easy, limpid phrasing, bright sound and expressive use of ornamentation made Elvira’s plight very touching.

— john von rhein, chicagotribune.com, "Spectacular singing sparks Lyric's revival of 'I Puritani'," 5 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'limpid.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Since the early 1600s, "limpid" has been used in English to describe things that have the soft clearness of pure water. The aquatic connection is not incidental; language scholars believe that "limpid" probably traces to "lympha," a Latin word meaning "water." That same Latin root is also the source of the word lymph, the English name for the pale liquid that helps maintain the body's fluid balance and that removes bacteria from tissues.