limpid

adjective lim·pid \ ˈlim-pəd \

Updated on: 26 Apr 2018

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

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limpidity

play \lim-ˈpi-də-tē\ noun

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limpidly

play \ˈlim-pəd-lē\ adverb

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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

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 Francisco Chronicle, "Invincible no more, Warriors face rocky path back to NBA Finals," 12 Apr. 2018
Soup is delivered to the table as a side, a limpid broth of pork bones and ham with a warming lick of ginger.

— ligaya mishan, New York Times, "Rice Noodles Stretching From Guangxi to the East Village," 19 Oct. 2017
Bastad, a resort on Sweden’s southwest coast, sits on a peninsula known for its sandy soil, limpid light and prized potato crop.

— wsj real estate, WSJ, "A Luxury Real-Estate Proposition," 17 Aug. 2017
This could make for grim reading except that Dalrymple, besides writing in limpid, elegant English, has an eye for the absurd, especially the absurdity of bureaucratic rigmarole.

— ian tuttle, National Review, "The Welfare Culture and Its Discontents," 1 Aug. 2017
Lacking energy and forward motion, the work’s limpid simplicity soon lost its ability to hold attention.

— marcus overton, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra plays Mozart and Strauss without conductor," 16 June 2017
If water sports are your thing, head to the famously limpid waters between and around the islands.

— jennifer ladonne, CNN, "Cannes day trips: The island retreats of Îles de Lérins," 24 May 2017
Burton Watson, whose spare, limpid translations, with erudite introductions, opened up the world of classical Japanese and Chinese literature to generations of English-speaking readers, died on April 1 in Kamagaya, Japan.

— william grimes, New York Times, "Burton Watson, 91, Influential Translator of Classical Asian Literature, Dies," 3 May 2017

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.