pellucid

adjective

pel·lu·cid | \ pə-ˈlü-səd

Definition of pellucid

1 : admitting maximum passage of light without diffusion or distortion a pellucid stream

2 : reflecting light evenly from all surfaces

3 : easy to understand

Other Words from pellucid Synonyms & Antonyms Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about pellucid

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Did You Know?

Pellucid is formed from Latin per ("through") plus lucidus—a word meaning "lucid, clear" that ultimately derives from the verb lucēre, meaning "to shine." Lucēre has many shining relatives in English. Among them are translucent (essentially, "clear enough to allow light to pass through"), elucidate ("to make clear, explain"), lucent ("luminous" or "clear"), and of course lucid itself (which can mean "shining," "mentally sound," or "easily understood"). Another related word is Lucifer (a name for the devil that literally means "light-bearer"). Other relatives—such as lackluster ("lacking brightness"), illustrate (originally, "to make bright"), and lustrous ("shining" or "radiant")—trace from the related Latin verb lustrare ("to brighten"). Clearly, pellucid is just one of a family of brilliant terms.

Examples of pellucid in a Sentence

the pellucid waters that lap upon that island's beaches her poetry has a pellucid simplicity that betrays none of the sweat that went into writing it

Recent Examples on the Web

To reach the restoration site where this crew is working, Silver traversed a realm of perfection: cool, pellucid pools and side channels of Elk Creek, a tributary of the Hoh. — Lynda V. Mapes, The Seattle Times, "Battling Scotch broom along Olympic’s Hoh River that threatens fish, forests," 27 May 2018

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