limpid

adjective

lim·​pid ˈlim-pəd 

1

a

: marked by transparency (see transparent sense 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

lim-ˈpi-də-tē 

noun

limpidly

ˈlim-pəd-lē 

adverb

limpidness noun

Did you know?

Let's clarify a few things about limpid. Since the early 1600s, this word 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 English word lymph, the term for the pale liquid that helps maintain the body's fluid balance and that removes bacteria from tissues.) While limpid was used originally to describe liquids free of visible, cloudy material, it didn't take long for the word to gain its figurative sense of "clear and simple in style." And despite its similarity to the unrelated adjective limp—which can be used to describe writing, for example, that lacks spirit or oomph—limpid carries no such negative connotations.

Synonyms

• crystal
• transparent
• clear
• liquid
• crystalline
• pellucid

Choose the Right Synonym for limpid

clear, transparent, translucent, limpid mean capable of being seen through.

clear implies absence of cloudiness, haziness, or muddiness.

clear water

transparent implies being so clear that objects can be seen distinctly.

a transparent sheet of film

translucent implies the passage of light but not a clear view of what lies beyond.

translucent frosted glass

limpid suggests the soft clearness of pure water.

her eyes were limpid pools of blue

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 on the Web

The fox squirrel, sitting upright on a piece of driftwood with a pecan in its paws, took me back to a long sweep of the lower Suwannee with limpid black waters, forests of pine and magnolia trees, live oaks, and wild pecans. —Charles Elliott, Outdoor Life, 21 Aug. 2025

Lucid in its clean, limpid minimalism, Mitchell’s prose was like a beautiful, clear river, its bottom not muddy but sparkling—sparkling with what might simply be gravel catching the light or, perhaps, diamonds worth diving for. —Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2025

The piece is built on repeating, consonant piano motifs, repeatedly accelerating from limpid undulations to headlong momentum and then easing back, evoking winds and tides. —Jon Pareles, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025

Smith mistranslated some words, but her harsher detractors accused her of betraying Han’s limpid, understated style, torquing it so as to hold the attention of Western readers. —Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 14 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French or Latin; French limpide, from Latin limpidus, perhaps from lympha water — more at lymph

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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Kids Definition

limpid

adjective

lim·​pid ˈlim-pəd 

: perfectly clear : transparent

limpid streams

limpidity

lim-ˈpid-ət-ē 

noun

limpidly

ˈlim-pəd-lē 

adverb

limpidness noun