Synonyms of perspicuity

perspicuity 1 of 2

noun

as in clarity

clearness of expression

the perspicuity of this author's prose is one of the reasons why her novels are still read and those of her contemporaries are gathering dust

Synonyms & Similar Words

• clarity
• simplicity
• lucidity
• explicitness
• lucidness
• directness
• perspicuousness
• incisiveness
• forthrightness
• straightforwardness
• readability
• intelligibility
• incision
• openness
• legibility
• comprehensibility
• readableness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ambiguity
• obscurity
• opacity
• unclarity
• obliquity
• obliqueness
• opaqueness
• unintelligibility
• inscrutability
• equivocation
• incomprehensibility
• impenetrability
• indistinctness
• indirectness
• obscureness
• ambiguousness
• deviousness
• incoherence
• dimness
• vagueness
• equivocalness
• fuzziness
• inscrutableness
• faintness
• disjointedness
• incomprehensibleness
• unintelligibleness
• muddiness
• circuitousness
• nebulousness

perspicuous

2 of 2

adjective

pər-ˈspi-kyə-wəs 

as in obvious

not subject to misinterpretation or more than one interpretation

believing that poetry need not be as perspicuous as prose, he writes poems that are intentionally ambiguous

Synonyms & Similar Words

• obvious
• unmistakable
• apparent
• evident
• straightforward
• clear
• distinct
• lucid
• unambiguous
• transparent
• simple
• broad
• unequivocal
• luminous
• visible
• plain
• clear-cut
• intelligible
• comprehensible
• manifest
• pellucid
• crystal clear
• palpable
• decided
• open-and-shut
• bright-line
• understandable
• unambivalent
• explicit
• ringing
• bald
• barefaced
• patent
• tangible
• noticeable
• nonambiguous
• luculent
• knowable
• bald-faced
• digestible
• uncomplicated
• tidy
• appreciable
• comprehendible
• sensible
• cognizable
• recognizable
• observable
• perceptible
• graspable
• self-evident
• discernible
• undisguised
• readable
• self-explanatory
• fathomable
• overt
• clean-cut
• legible
• trenchant
• black-and-white
• decipherable
• clean
• cognoscible
• well-defined
• fair

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ambiguous
• indistinct
• obscure
• mysterious
• unclear
• equivocal
• dark
• enigmatic
• cryptic
• incomprehensible
• unintelligible
• clouded
• unknowable
• unfathomable
• indecipherable
• unapparent
• subtle
• vague
• imperceptible
• nonobvious
• inappreciable
• impalpable
• insensible
• obfuscated
• unclarified
• imprecise
• gray
• indefinite
• indeterminate
• nebulous
• slippery
• hazy
• sketchy
• indiscernible
• cloudy
• murky
• misty
• illegible
• noncommittal
• unreadable
• gauzy
• undecipherable

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective perspicuous differ from other similar words?

The words clear and lucid are common synonyms of perspicuous. While all three words mean "quickly and easily understood," perspicuous applies to a style that is simple and elegant as well as clear.

a perspicuous style

When is clear a more appropriate choice than perspicuous?

While the synonyms clear and perspicuous are close in meaning, clear implies freedom from obscurity, ambiguity, or undue complexity.

clear instructions

When might lucid be a better fit than perspicuous?

In some situations, the words lucid and perspicuous are roughly equivalent. However, lucid suggests a clear logical coherence and evident order of arrangement.

a lucid explanation

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of perspicuity

Adjective

But where Hofstadter is playfully enigmatic and brashly brainy, Chalmers’s writing is perspicuous and teacherly — an approach that keeps it from collapsing into recalcitrant obscurity. — Washington Post, 11 Feb. 2022

Conditions in the state the planes left behind them were far less perspicuous. — The Economist, 8 Feb. 2020

The president began his Monday by scrutinizing his national security briefing, filling its margins with perspicuous questions and observations. — Eric Levitz, Daily Intelligencer, 10 July 2017

Unspoken but perspicuous is the wish to (at worst) score points off Democrats and (at best) free up a seat on the nation’s most important appeals court for a nominee from the Federalist Society weapons locker. — Garrett Epps, The Atlantic, 12 May 2017