Some explanations make you nod; others make you squint. These words describe ideas, directions and writing on both sides of that line. Several began as words about light: lucid and elucidate hold Latin lux (light), while opaque and obscure first meant dark or shaded.
Key idea
Clear: lucid, coherent (holds together), explicit (stated outright), incisive (sharp, to the point); to make clear is to elucidate. Unstated: implicit (suggested, not said). Unclear: opaque, obscure, nebulous (hazy), convoluted (twisted and tangled).
The ten words
Common mistake
implicit means unstated, not "hidden on purpose"; explicit and implicit are opposites. obscure has two meanings: hard to understand, and little known.
| word | clear or not? | you might hear |
|---|---|---|
| lucid | clear and easy to follow | a lucid explanation |
| coherent | logical, holds together | a coherent argument |
| explicit | stated outright | explicit instructions |
| implicit | suggested, not stated | an implicit promise |
| incisive | sharp, to the point | an incisive question |
| elucidate | to make clear | elucidate a point |
| opaque | hard to see into or understand | opaque language |
| obscure | unclear; little known | an obscure reference |
| nebulous | vague, hazy | a nebulous plan |
| convoluted | twisted, hard to follow | convoluted directions |
Explicit and implicit are opposites: explicit is said outright; implicit is suggested without being said. Implicit does not mean hidden on purpose. (In “implicit trust,” it has a second sense: complete and unquestioning.) And obscure has two senses: hard to understand (an obscure poem) and little known (an obscure village).