imperspicuousadj.
/ˌɪmpəˈspɪkjʊəs/, U.S. /ˌɪmpərˈspɪkjəwəs/ Not clearly expressed or easily understood; obscure, opaque; (of a speaker or writer) unclear in style, meaning, or expression. Occasionally also of an object: †not transparent or translucent; cf. perspicuous adj. 4 (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > obscurity > [adjective]
darkOE
murka1400
cloudyc1400
mistyc1400
unclearc1400
obturate?a1425
obscure?a1439
unplain?c1535
obumbilatec1540
abstruse?1549
darksome1574
mysteriousa1586
obstruse1604
muddy1611
unperspicuous1634
clouded1641
imperspicuous1654
cramp1674
unlucid1711
abstract1725
opaque1761
obumbratory1799
darkling1813
sludgy1901
1654 R. Vilvain Theoremata Theologica 142 His curious Comment..contains two principal parts.., both being vastly tedious and imperspicuous.
1705 C. Purshall Ess. at Mechanism of Macrocosm xiii. 86 United into Vast Solid Bodies: Polished like Metallic Speculums, Fixt, and Imperspicuous.
1850 Result of Medit. on Bible p. vi There will yet arise imperspicuous and defective sentences, notwithstanding all the pains taken to eradicate them.
1916 Pennsylvania Justices' Law Reporter 14 131 There may also have been an imperspicuous presentation of the real merits of the case.
1960 Bulletin (Brit. Assoc. Amer. Stud.) No. 1 58 To pin down this elusive, polymorphic and imperspicuous sage is a task indeed.
1980 U.S. Patent 4,206,248 4 The dry isolated product has a weight of 53 g and is composed mainly of imperspicuous black little spheres.
2005 J. Weiner Frege Explained viii. 137 This looks like an exceedingly messy and imperspicuous way of restating Hilbert's foundations.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1654