lucidity
noun
lu·cid·i·ty
lü-ˈsi-də-tē 
1
: clearness of thought or style
the lucidity of the explanation
2
: a presumed capacity to perceive the truth directly and instantaneously : clairvoyance
when the spirit is drawn to lucidity by the immediacy of death—
Graham Greene
Graham Greene
Synonyms
Examples of lucidity in a Sentence
the lucidity of the recipe should ensure a minimum of confusion
Recent Examples on the Web
Her dedication to her husband, and pleasure in his moments of adoring lucidity, is a transfixing grace.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2023
Republican lawmakers, in a rare moment of lucidity, figured out that running slap over Black Democrats, session after session, was a bad look for them.
—Kyle Whitmire | Kwhitmire@al.com, al, 5 July 2023
While her lucidity survived the illness, much of her memory did not.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 23 June 2016
Today even a legal decision made in a fleeting moment of lucidity — a few minutes of clarity, pressed between hours or days of cognitive shadow — counts under the law.
—Katie Engelhart, New York Times, 9 May 2023
Wake Up Early and Go Back to Bed Still struggling to achieve lucidity inside your dreams?
—WIRED, 14 Mar. 2023
Her life ever since, her sister said, has been punctuated by medicated periods of relative lucidity, hospital stays, jail stints for prostitution and other minor crimes, and long stretches lost in a fog.
—Andy Newman Hiroko Masuike, New York Times, 3 May 2023
But Kushner’s play still feels contemporary, still speaks to our time with poetic lucidity — and with political prescience, as when Cohn gloats over the stealthy, appointment-by-appointment tactics that can enlarge the influence of the right.
—Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, 1 May 2023
Stretching from 1976 to 2003, this is a story of profound connection and awakening disquiet, which Sullivan directs with his customary unostentatious lucidity.
—Laura Collins-Hughes, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2023
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Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2023
Republican lawmakers, in a rare moment of lucidity, figured out that running slap over Black Democrats, session after session, was a bad look for them.
—Kyle Whitmire | Kwhitmire@al.com, al, 5 July 2023
While her lucidity survived the illness, much of her memory did not.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 23 June 2016
Today even a legal decision made in a fleeting moment of lucidity — a few minutes of clarity, pressed between hours or days of cognitive shadow — counts under the law.
—Katie Engelhart, New York Times, 9 May 2023
Wake Up Early and Go Back to Bed Still struggling to achieve lucidity inside your dreams?
—WIRED, 14 Mar. 2023
Her life ever since, her sister said, has been punctuated by medicated periods of relative lucidity, hospital stays, jail stints for prostitution and other minor crimes, and long stretches lost in a fog.
—Andy Newman Hiroko Masuike, New York Times, 3 May 2023
But Kushner’s play still feels contemporary, still speaks to our time with poetic lucidity — and with political prescience, as when Cohn gloats over the stealthy, appointment-by-appointment tactics that can enlarge the influence of the right.
—Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, 1 May 2023
Stretching from 1976 to 2003, this is a story of profound connection and awakening disquiet, which Sullivan directs with his customary unostentatious lucidity.
—Laura Collins-Hughes, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lucidity.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1810, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near lucidity
Cite this Entry
“Lucidity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lucidity. Accessed 2 Dec. 2023.
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More from Merriam-Webster on lucidity
Nglish: Translation of lucidity for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of lucidity for Arabic Speakers
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