transparent

UK: /trænsˈpærənt/

US: /trænsˈpɛrənt, -ˈpær-/

US: (trans pâr′ənt, -par′-)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

trans•par•ent /trænsˈpɛrənt, -ˈpær-/   adj. 

1. Optics allowing light to pass through its substance so that bodies situated behind can be clearly seen.
2. so light or sheer as to permit light to pass through:
   a transparent blouse.
3. easily seen through, recognized, or detected:
   a transparent lie.
4. easily understood;
   obvious:
   a story with a transparent plot.

trans•par•ent•ly, adv. 

: Things were transparently obvious at that point.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

trans•par•ent  (trans pâr′ənt, -par′-), adj. 

1. having the property of transmitting rays of light through its substance so that bodies situated beyond or behind can be distinctly seen.
2. admitting the passage of light through interstices.
3. so sheer as to permit light to pass through;
   diaphanous.
4. easily seen through, recognized, or detected:
   transparent excuses.
5. manifest;
   obvious:
   a story with a transparent plot.
6. open;
   frank;
   candid:
   the man's transparent earnestness.
7. [Computers.] (of a process or software) operating in such a way as to not be perceived by users.
8. [Obs.] shining through, as light.

• Medieval Latin trānspārent- (stem of trānspārēns) showing through (present participle of trānspārēre), equivalent. to Latin trāns- trans- + pārent- (stem of pārēns), present participle of pārēre to appear; see apparent
• late Middle English 1375–1425

trans•par ′ent•ly, adv. 
trans•par ′ent•ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. clear, pellucid, limpid, crystalline.
  Transparent, translucent agree in describing material that light rays can pass through. That which is transparent allows objects to be seen clearly through it:
  Clear water is transparent.
  That which is translucent allows light to pass through, diffusing it, however, so that objects beyond are not distinctly seen:
  Ground glass is translucent.

Antonyms

• 1. opaque.
• 6. secretive.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

transparent / trænsˈpærənt -ˈpɛər-/ adjective

1. permitting the uninterrupted passage of light; clear
2. easy to see through, understand, or recognize; obvious
3. (of a substance or object) permitting the free passage of electromagnetic radiation
4. candid, open, or frank

Etymology: 15th Century: from Medieval Latin transpārēre to show through, from Latin trans- + pārēre to appear

transˈparently adverb

transˈparentness noun