perspicuous
per·spic·u·ous/pərˈspɪkjəwəs/adjective
perspicuous is spelled P-E-R-S-P-I-C-U-O-U-S: 11 letters and 4 syllables (per·spic·u·ous). It appears about once in every 56 million words in written English, the 234,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, perspicuous means “Clearly expressed, easy to understand; lucid” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in perspicuous?
| Letters | 11: P-E-R-S-P-I-C-U-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: per·spic·u·ous |
| In writing | about once in every 56 million words; the 234,209th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is perspicuous?
Perspicuous appears about once in every 56 million words in written English, the 234,209th 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 perspicuous?
- UK /pəˈspɪkjuːəs/
- US /pərˈspɪkjəwəs/
- US /pɚˈspɪkjuːəs/
Perspicuous has 4 syllables, split per·spic·u·ous in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-perspicuous.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of perspicuous
- more perspicuous comparative
- most perspicuous superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does perspicuous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Clearly expressed, easy to understand; lucid.
- 2
(Of a language or notation) the process of inference from premises to conclusion is explicitly laid out.
- 3
rareThat can be seen through clearly; that lets light through.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Perspicuous in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense clearly expressed:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | perspicuo |
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 perspicuous come from?
From Latin perspicuus, in turn from perspiciō (“see through”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).