opaque
/oʊˈpeɪk/adjective, noun, verb
opaque is spelled O-P-A-Q-U-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 17,813th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, opaque means “Neither reflecting nor emitting light” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in opaque?
| Letters | 6: O-P-A-Q-U-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.3 times per million words; the 17,813th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is opaque?
Opaque appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 17,813th 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 opaque?
- UK /əʊˈpeɪk/
- US /oʊˈpeɪk/
- Australia /əʉˈpæɪk/
Opaque has 2 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-opaque.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with opaque?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as opaque from its last stressed vowel (/eɪk/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of opaque
- more opaque comparative
- opaquer comparative
- most opaque superlative
- opaquest superlative
- opaques plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- opaquing participle, present
- opaqued participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does opaque mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Neither reflecting nor emitting light.
- 2
Allowing little light to pass through, not translucent or transparent.
- 3
Unclear, unintelligible, hard to get or explain the meaning of.
- 4
Obtuse, stupid.
- 5
Describes a data 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.
noun
- 1
obsoleteAn area of darkness; a place or region with no light.
- 2
Something which is opaque rather than translucent.
verb
- 1
To make, render (more) opaque.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Opaque in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | matt, dunkel , undurchsichtig, undurchlässig, opak, blickdicht |
| French | opaque |
| Portuguese | opaco |
| Spanish | opaco , opacar |
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 opaque come from?
From Middle English opake, from Latin opacus (“shaded, shady, dark”) (of unknown origin), later reinforced from Middle French opaque. Doublet of ubac.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).