explicit
/ɪkˈsplɪs.ɪt/adjective, noun
explicit is spelled E-X-P-L-I-C-I-T: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 9.1 times per million words in written English, the 7,553rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “explicit vs implicit” about 12,100 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, explicit means “Very specific, clear, or detailed” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in explicit?
| Letters | 8: E-X-P-L-I-C-I-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 9.1 times per million words; the 7,553rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is explicit?
Explicit appears 9.1 times per million words in written English, the 7,553rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce explicit?
- /ɪkˈsplɪs.ɪt/
- /ɛk-/
Explicit has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-explicit.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with explicit
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of explicit
- more explicit comparative
- most explicit superlative
- explicits plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does explicit mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Very specific, clear, or detailed.
I gave explicit instructions for him to stay here, but he followed me, anyway.
- 2
Containing material (e.g. language or film footage) that might be deemed offensive or graphic through clear and direct expressions.
The film had several scenes including explicit language and sex.
noun
- 1
The final few words of a text.
phrase
- 1
obsoleteUsed at the conclusion of a book to indicate the end.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Explicit in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | explicite |
| German | eindeutig, ausdrücklich, deutlich, explizit |
| Portuguese | explícito |
| Spanish | explícito , vulgar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does explicit come from?
Borrowed from French explicite, from Latin explicitus (“disentangled, easy”), variant of explicātus.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).