as in obvious
not subject to misinterpretation or more than one interpretation
believing that poetry need not be as perspicuous as prose, he writes poems that are intentionally ambiguous
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Recent Examples of perspicuous
But where Hofstadter is playfully enigmatic and brashly brainy, Chalmers’s writing is perspicuous and teacherly — an approach that keeps it from collapsing into recalcitrant obscurity.
—
Washington Post, 11 Feb. 2022
Conditions in the state the planes left behind them were far less perspicuous.
—The Economist, 8 Feb. 2020
The president began his Monday by scrutinizing his national security briefing, filling its margins with perspicuous questions and observations.
—Eric Levitz, Daily Intelligencer, 10 July 2017
Unspoken but perspicuous is the wish to (at worst) score points off Democrats and (at best) free up a seat on the nation’s most important appeals court for a nominee from the Federalist Society weapons locker.
—Garrett Epps, The Atlantic, 12 May 2017
Washington Post, 11 Feb. 2022
Conditions in the state the planes left behind them were far less perspicuous.
—The Economist, 8 Feb. 2020
The president began his Monday by scrutinizing his national security briefing, filling its margins with perspicuous questions and observations.
—Eric Levitz, Daily Intelligencer, 10 July 2017
Unspoken but perspicuous is the wish to (at worst) score points off Democrats and (at best) free up a seat on the nation’s most important appeals court for a nominee from the Federalist Society weapons locker.
—Garrett Epps, The Atlantic, 12 May 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perspicuous
Adjective
-
The old gunslinger makes the most of an AFC without an obvious favorite and rides off after one last trip into the playoffs, this one coming with a postseason win.—
Mike DeFabo,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
-
Neural activation and event consolidation seem too bureaucratic, even obvious.—
Deborah Treisman,
New Yorker,
17 May 2026
Adjective
-
This connection with Nashville’s past and future gives the patient experience a sense of character, privacy, and unmistakable identity.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
15 May 2026
-
The undercurrent here is unmistakable.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 May 2026
Adjective
-
The Georgia city’s northwest Buckhead neighborhood has been overrun in the last couple of weeks by empty, driverless ride-share vehicles due to an apparent routing behavior issue.—
Brie Stimson,
FOXNews.com,
16 May 2026
-
Their apparent approach will culminate in a spectacular conjunction on June 9, when the two brightest planets in the night sky appear exceptionally close together after sunset.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2026
Adjective
-
While the ramifications are currently most evident in Asia, Neumann said that as manufacturing and consumer sentiment decline, that is likely to spill over into other economies that rely on the region for trade.—
Stephanie Yang,
CNN Money,
12 May 2026
-
That cost was evident in financial markets on Tuesday, with the interest rate charged on British government bonds up by more than those of comparable nations — that shows that investors are putting a higher price on taking on government debt.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
12 May 2026
Adjective
-
Ahead of this week's PGA Championship, where DeChambeau is among the favorites at Aronimink Golf Club, 2002 PGA Championship winner Rich Beem was asked the simple yet not-so-straightforward question about the Tour's potential need for a DeChambeau return.—
Mark Harris OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
13 May 2026
-
Now, that might all sound like just common sense and relatively straightforward to achieve.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
13 May 2026
Adjective
-
This brief genius window can make strategy clearer, reveal missing pieces, and turn vague ideas into usable next steps.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
14 May 2026
-
In West Texas, some locals were hopeful that the exigencies of life in a rural area, where recordkeeping can be rudimentary and property boundaries aren’t always clear, might stymie the project, at least for a little while.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
14 May 2026
Adjective
-
With two distinct waves of iPhone 18 handsets arriving, Apple can leverage this to their advantage, bringing more users to the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max handsets, disrupting Android’s Mobile World Congress launch cycle, and giving the iPhone 18 a clear run as its consumer-friendly champion.—
Ewan Spence,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
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Through a combination of archival footage, interviews with surviving contemporaries, and many, many photos, the film attempts to get to the bottom of Avedon’s distinct knack for capturing celebrities at their very best.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
17 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Perspicuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perspicuous. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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