Abstruse vs Opaque - What's the difference?
abstruse | opaque |
(obsolete) Concealed or hidden out of the way; secret.
* 1612 , Thomas Shelton (translator), Miguel de Cervantes (Spanish author), The History of the Valorous and Wittie Knight-Errant Don-Quixote of the Mancha , Part 4, Chapter 15, page 500:
* 1667 , , Paradise Lost :
Difficult to comprehend or understand; recondite; obscure; esoteric.
* 1548 , Bishop John Hooper, A Declaration of the Ten Holy Comaundementes of Almygthye God , Chapter 17 Curiosity, Page 218:
* 1748 , David Hume, Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of moral. London: Oxford University Press, 1973. ยง 13.
* 1855 , , History of Latin Christianity :
Neither reflecting nor emitting light.
Allowing little light to pass through, not translucent or transparent.
(figuratively) Unclear, unintelligible, hard to get or explain the meaning of
(figuratively) Obtuse, stupid.
(computing) Describes a type for which higher-level callers have no knowledge of data values or their representations; all operations are carried out by the type's defined abstract operators.
(obsolete, poetic) An area of darkness; a place or region with no light.
* 1745 , Edward Young, Night-Thoughts , I:
Something which is opaque rather than translucent.
To make, render (more) opaque.
As adjectives the difference between abstruse and opaque
is that abstruse is concealed or hidden out of the way; secret while opaque is neither reflecting nor emitting light.As a noun opaque is
an area of darkness; a place or region with no light.As a verb opaque is
to make, render (more) opaque.abstruse
English
Adjective
(en-adj)- O who is he that could carrie newes to our olde father, that thou wert but aliue, although thou wert hidden in the most abstruse dungeons of Barbarie; for his riches, my brothers and mine would fetch thee from thence.
- The eternal eye whose sight discerns abstrusest thoughts.
- ...at the end of his cogitacions, fyndithe more abstruse , and doutfull obiections then at the beginning...
- It is certain that the easy and obvious philosophy will always, with the generality of mankind, have the preference above the accurate and abstruse ;
- Profound and abstruse topics.
Usage notes
* More abstruse and most abstruse are the preferred forms over abstruser and abstrusest.Derived terms
* abstrusely * abstrusenessReferences
External links
* * ----opaque
English
(wikipedia opaque)Alternative forms
* opakeAdjective
(en adjective)Antonyms
* (physically) see-through, translucent, transparent * (figuratively) clear, obvious, bright, brilliantUsage notes
* The comparative opaquer and superlative opaquest, though formed following valid rules for English, are much less common than more opaque' and ' most opaque and seem to occur more frequently in poetry.Derived terms
* opaquely * opaqueness * radiopaqueNoun
(en noun)- Through this opaque of Nature and of Soul, / This double night, transmit one pitying ray, / To lighten, and to cheer.