opaqueadj.n.
/ə(ʊ)ˈpeɪk/, U.S. /oʊˈpeɪk/ A. adj.
1.
a. Lying in shadow; dark, dim, not illuminated. Also figurative. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > darkness or absence of light > darkness or gloom > [adjective] > dim, dark, or obscure
obscurea1425
opaque?1440
caliginousc1550
half-dark1576
murksome1590
opacousa1627
twilight1645
shadowy1840
twilighty1856
twilighted1865
twilit1869
tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) ii. 261 They honge hem vp in place opake and drie.
1623 W. Drummond Cypresse Groue in Flowres of Sion 52 They whom opaque imaginations and inward melancholie, have made weary of the worlds eye.
1642 H. More Ψυχωδια Platonica sig. D The nights nimble net That doth encompasse every opake ball, That swims in liquid aire.
1696 W. Whiston Disc. conc. Mosaick Hist. Creation 35 in New Theory of Earth The Opake and Obscure parts were..perfectly inconsiderable.
1758 J. Reed Madrigal & Trulletta iv. vi. 44 Realms opake, Where boiling Tartarus roars.
1775 Ann. Reg. 110/1 The light of the sun was somewhat opake, by the shadows, as if two or three digits were eclipsed.
1820 J. Keats Hyperion: a Fragm. ii, in Lamia & Other Poems 168 Cœus, and Gyges, and Briareüs..Were..Dungeon'd in opaque element.
a1859 W. Watt Poems & Songs (1860) 274 Joy's mild sky is oft o'ercast By woe's opaque tempestuous blast.
1934 E. Blunden Choice or Chance 56 In these low days at last we have the truth Of our tradition, which had grown opake, Restored to sparkling and triumphant youth.
b. Of an object or surface: not reflecting or emitting light; not shining or lustrous. Also figurative. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > darkness or absence of light > dimness or absence of brightness > [adjective]
dima1000
darkOE
troublea1327
palec1385
dullc1430
unclearc1440
unbright1534
cloudy1556
unlight1570
muddy1600
wan1601
opacous1616
filmy1642
illuminous1656
crepuscular1668
dumb1720
rayless1754
opaque1794
veilya1802
turbid1811
unlucent1819
ineffulgent1824
blear1830
unrefulgent1856
subluminous1860
subaqueous1875
shineless1882
1646 A. Ross New Planet No Planet 115 Can you prove mee, that when the Moone shineth there is any variation of shadowes, when both the luminous and opace body are moved with the same motion.
1675 H. More Let. 9 Nov. in Conway Lett. (1992) vii. 404 The ayre of his countenance was more hard and opake, and I could not hitt it so well in my converse with him.
1691 T. Heyrick Misc. Poems 42 Th'opaque dull Earth thou dost make fine, Thou dost ith' Moon and Planets shine.
1755 E. Young Centaur vi, in Wks. (1757) IV. 260 We have in abundance..lunar great men. Men in themselves opaque, who borrow beams, from their circumstances, or situation.
1794 G. Adams Lect. Nat. & Exper. Philos. IV. xxxvii. 15 The planets are all opake, or dark bodies.
1800 tr. E. J. B. Bouillon-Lagrange Man. Course Chem. I. 293 It has an opake colour, interspersed with yellowish spots.
1847 R. W. Emerson Poems 89 Thou in our astronomy An opaker star.
1877 W. Black Green Pastures xxxvii An opaque, solid green—not unlike sealing-wax.
1984 V. C. Friesen Spirit of Huckleberry vii. 112 When he is abstracted enough, even the opaque earth itself reflects images to him.
2.
a. Not transmitting light, not transparent or translucent; impenetrable to sight. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > transparency or translucence > opacity > [adjective]
troublea1327
nebulous?a1425
cloudy1587
shady1605
untransparent1605
untransparablea1618
opacous1625
opaque1631
opacious1643
non-transparent1653
adiaphanous1658
undiaphanous1666
opacular1761
intransparent1842
opacious1953
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > glass and glass-like materials > [adjective] > other types of glass
blownc1425
Bohemian1682
grounded1698
soft1758
unsilvered1772
navelledc1817
drawn-out1822
muffled1847
ambitty1856
muffed1868
roughcast1868
Sandwich1881
fumé1883
hand-blown1885
peach-blow1886
opaque1907
mould-blown1925
offhand1941
1631 E. Reynolds Three Treat. 436 All other shewes and pretences are but like windowes fastned upon a thicke wall onely for uniformitie in the building; though they seeme specious..yet inward they transmit no light at all, because they are laid over an opace body.
1651 J. French Art Distillation v. 168 If you would have this masse not to be transparent but opac.
1697 Philos. Trans. 1695–7 (Royal Soc.) 19 678 Its Leaves are stiff..and opake (i.e.) not to be seen through.
1727 D. Defoe Ess. Hist. Apparitions 26 They are habitable Bodies, solid, opaac, as this Earth.
1757 P. Bacon Oculist ii. i. 50 Here is a suffusion that spreads over part of the pupil, and I am afraid it is quite opaque towards the right corner.
1818 M. Faraday Exper. Res. vii. 19 Exposed to the air these crystals became opake.
1869 J. Tyndall Notes 9 Lect. on Light 21 It is the frequency of the reflexions at the limiting surfaces of air and water that renders foam opaque.
1879 H. James Confidence I. xvii. 277 All this was a good deal for Bernard to see in the course of half a minute, especially through the rather opaque medium of a feeling of irreflective joy.
1907 E. Dillon Glass xvii. 291 Much opaque white glass was made in Germany..in the first years of the eighteenth century.
1925 W. Cather Professor's House i. i. 18 It was a dead, opaque, lumpy solidity, like chunks of putty, or tightly packed sawdust.
1990 Artist's & Illustrator's Mag. May 35/3 Gouache..may be..used as an opaque watercolour for direct painting, or as a translucent watercolour.
b. Not transmitting a form of radiation other than light, as sound, heat, or X-rays. Frequently with to.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > heat > transmission of heat > [adjective] > non-conduction
non-conducting1751
adiathermic1843
non-conductive1850
opaque1860
adiabatic1870
insulating1945
insulative1945
insulated1964
the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > radioactivity > X-rays > [adjective] > impervious to X-rays
opaque1860
radiopaque1917
radiodense1960
the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > particle physics > particle avoiding strong interaction > electron > [adjective] > not transmitting electrons
opaque1956
1860 Proc. Royal Soc. 1859–60 10 388 A screen of glass is peculiarly opaque for heat from glass.
1874 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 164 205 The atmosphere..was acoustically opaque.
1903 W. A. Pusey & E. W. Caldwell Pract. Applic. Röntgen Rays vi. 133 It will be a great help to the radiographer if the dressings are of a material which is not opaque to the ray.
1937 I. C. C. Tchaperoff Man. Radiol. Diagnosis iv. 167 The emphysematous area remains transparent in the radiograph.., whereas the normal areas become more opaque on expiration.
1956 Nature 18 Feb. 326/2 The unfractionated polymer..gives crystals which are smaller and more opaque to electrons.
1994 P. Davies Last Three Minutes iii. 25 The primordial gas, consisting mainly of hydrogen, was an ionized plasma and therefore opaque to electromagnetic radiation.
3. † b. Impervious to reason; stupid, obtuse. Obsolete.
a. Hard to understand; obscure in meaning; not clear or lucid.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > unintelligibility > depth, obscurity > [adjective]
higheOE
dighela1000
deepc1000
darkOE
starkOE
dusk?c1225
subtle1340
dimc1350
subtilea1393
covert1393
mystica1398
murka1400
cloudyc1400
hard?c1400
mistyc1400
unclearc1400
diffuse1430
abstractc1450
diffused?1456
exquisitec1460
obnubilous?a1475
obscure?a1475
covered1484
intricate?a1500
nice?a1500
perplexeda1500
difficilea1513
difficult1530
privy1532
smoky1533
secret1535
abstruse?1549
difficul1552
entangled1561
confounded1572
darksome1574
obnubilate1575
enigmatical1576
confuse1577
mysteriousa1586
Delphic1598
obfuscatea1600
enfumed1601
Delphicala1603
obstruse1604
abstracted1605
confused1611
questionable1611
inevident1614
recondite1619
cryptic1620
obfuscated1620
transcendent1624
Delphian1625
oraculous1625
enigmatic1628
recluse1629
abdite1635
undilucidated1635
clouded1641
benighted1647
oblite1650
researched1653
obnubilated1658
obscurative1664
tenebrose1677
hyperbyssal1691
condite1695
diffusive1709
profound1710
tenebricose1730
oracular1749
opaque1761
unenlightening1768
darkling1795
offuscating1798
unrecognizable1817
tough1820
abstrusive1848
obscurant1878
out-of-focus1891
unplumbable1895
inenubilable1903
non-transparent1939
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
1761 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy III. xx. 102 To darken your hypothesis by placing a number of tall, opake words..betwixt your own and your readers conception.
1776 C. Burney Gen. Hist. Music I. 237 An opake expression, upon which they are utterly unable to throw a single ray of light.
1845 T. Carlyle in O. Cromwell Lett. & Speeches I. 150 Whoever wishes..may consult the opaque but authentic Commons Journals.
1941 Amer. Lit. 13 81 Fortunately, the opaque sentences are largely confined to the essays about British authors.
1967 M. McLuhan Let. 24 Apr. (1987) 345 You have got very close to some big issues that remain quite opaque in most people.
1988 P. Gay Freud iv. 185 By that time he had become less opaque to his new psychoanalytic friends, for in the beginning he had struck them as hard to read.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupidity, dullness of intellect > [adjective]
sloweOE
stuntc960
dullOE
hardOE
stuntlyc1000
sotc1050
dillc1175
dulta1225
simplea1325
heavy1340
astonedc1374
sheepishc1380
dull-witteda1387
lourd1390
steerishc1411
ass-likea1425
brainless?a1439
deafc1440
sluggishc1450
short-witted1477
obtuse1509
peakish1519
wearish1519
deaf, or dumb as a beetle1520
doileda1522
gross1526
headlessa1530
stulty1532
ass-headed1533
pot-headed1533
stupid?1541
sheep's head1542
doltish1543
dumpish1545
assish1548
blockish1548
slow-witted1548
blockheaded1549
surd1551
dull-headed1552
hammer-headed1552
skit-brained?1553
buzzardly1561
witless1562
log-headeda1566
assy1566
sottish1566
dastardly1567
stupidious1567
beetle-headed1570
calvish1570
bluntish1578
cod's-headed1578
grout-headed1578
bedaft1579
dull-pated1580
blate1581
buzzard-like1581
long-eared1582
dullard1583
woodena1586
duncical1588
leaden-headed1589
buzzard1592
dorbellical1592
dunstical1592
heavy-headeda1593
shallow-brained1592
blunt-witted1594
mossy1597
Bœotian1598
clay-brained1598
fat1598
fat-witted1598
knotty-pated1598
stupidous1598
wit-lost1599
barren1600
duncifiedc1600
lourdish1600
stockish1600
thick1600
booby1603
leaden-pated1603
partless1603
thin-headed1603
leaden-skulledc1604
blockhead1606
frost-brained1606
ram-headed1608
beef-witted1609
insulse1609
leaden-spirited1609
asininec1610
clumse1611
blockheadly1612
wattle-headed1613
flata1616
logger-headeda1616
puppy-headeda1616
shallow-patedc1616
thick-brained1619
half-headed1621
buzzard-blinda1625
beef-brained1628
toom-headed1629
thick-witted1634
woollen-witted1635
squirrel-headed1637
clod-pated1639
lean-souled1639
muddy-headed1642
leaden-witteda1645
as sad as any mallet1645
under-headed1646
fat-headed1647
half-witted1647
insipid1651
insulsate1652
soft-headed1653
thick-skulleda1657
muddish1658
non-intelligent1659
whey-brained1660
sap-headed1665
timber-headed1666
leather-headeda1668
out of (one's) tree1669
boobily1673
thoughtless1673
lourdly1674
logger1675
unintelligenta1676
Bœotic1678
chicken-brained1678
under-witted1683
loggerhead1684
dunderheaded1692
unintelligible1694
buffle-headed1697
crassicc1700
numbskulled1707
crassous1708
doddy-polled1708
haggis-headed1715
niddy-noddy1722
muzzy1723
pudding-headed1726
sumphish1728
pitcher-souleda1739
duncey1743
hebete1743
chuckheaded1756
dumb1756
duncely1757
imbecile1766
mutton-headed1768
chuckle-headed1770
jobbernowl1770
dowfarta1774
boobyish1778
wittol1780
staumrel1787
opaquec1789
stoopid1791
mud-headed1793
borné1795
muzzy-headed1798
nog-headed1800
thick-headed1801
gypit1804
duncish1805
lightweight1809
numbskull1814
tup-headed1816
chuckle-pate1820
unintellectuala1821
dense1822
ninnyish1822
dunch1825
fozy1825
potato-headed1826
beef-headed1828
donkeyish1831
blockheadish1833
pinheaded1837
squirrel-minded1837
pumpkin-headed1838
tomfoolish1838
dundering1840
chicken-headed1842
like a bump on a log1842
ninny-minded1849
numbheadeda1852
nincompoopish1852
suet-brained1852
dolly1853
mullet-headed1853
sodden1853
fiddle-headed1854
numb1854
bovine1855
logy1859
crass1861
unsmart1861
off his chump1864
wooden-headed1865
stupe1866
lean-minded1867
duffing1869
cretinous1871
doddering1871
thick-head1873
doddling1874
stupido1879
boneheaded1883
woolly-headed1883
leaden-natured1889
suet-headed1890
sam-sodden1891
dopey1896
turnip-headed1898
bonehead1903
wool-witted1905
peanut-headed1906
peanut-brained1907
dilly1909
torpid-minded1909
retardate1912
nitwitted1917
meat-headed1918
mug1922
cloth-headed1925
loopy1925
nitwit1928
lame-brained1929
dead from the neck up1930
simpy1932
nail-headed1936
square-headed1936
dingbats1937
pinhead1939
dim-witted1940
pea-brained1942
clueless1943
lobotomized1943
retarded1949
pointy-headed1950
clottish1952
like a stunned mullet1953
silly (or crazy) as a two-bob watch1954
out to lunch1955
pin-brained1958
dozy1959
eejity1964
out of one's tiny mind1965
doofus1967
twitty1967
twittish1969
twatty1975
twattish1976
blur1977
dof1979
goofus1981
dickheaded1991
dickish1991
numpty1992
cockish1996
c1789 J. Woodhouse Love Let. viii, in Poet. Wks (1896) 226 How glittering Demigoddesses, and Gods, Eclipse Us, poor, opaque, and vulgar, Clods.
a1809 A. Seward Poet. Wks (1810) I. 29 Cold privation had assign'd His form unlovely, as opake his mind.
1882 M. Oliphant Lit. Hist. Eng. III. 227 Too opaque to understand her husband's jeers.
1886 W. W. Story Poems II. 103 The company's..Made up of fellows..some of whose notions are rather opaque Of the laws that govern property.
4. Linguistics.
a. Not obvious in meaning; esp. (of a word) that was originally a compound or derivative but is now a simplex, and so has a meaning that cannot be deduced from its form or sound.
ΚΠ
1949 Archivum Linguisticum 1 129 Housewife = house + wife—as against its opaque doublet hussy.
1962 S. Ullman Semantics iv. 110 Sound-change has played an important part in making French into a relatively opaque idiom.
1989 Eng. World-wide 10 300 Synchronically, such formations [sc. compounds formed by way of folk-etymology] are recognizable since they are either opaque, or their obvious meaning is misleading.
b. Of a rule in phonology: that cannot be extrapolated from every occurrence; subject to exceptions, esp. as a result of language change.
ΚΠ
1971 P. Kiparsky in W. O. Dingwall Surv. Ling. Sci. 621 Define the concept opacity of a rule as follows:..A rule A→B/C–D is opaque to the extent that there are surface representations of the form (i) A in environment C–D or (ii) B in environment other than C–D.
1974 S. R. Anderson Organization of Phonol. xii. 209 Historical change can be seen to operate on nontransparent (or opaque) rules so as to make them more transparent or to eliminate them from the grammar.
1997 W. J. Idsardi in I. Roca Derivations & Constraints in Phonol. 373 Hebrew spirantization is a typical example of an opaque rule, because later rules, such as vowel deletion, obscure the application environment in the surface form.
B. n.
1. † a. Chiefly poetic. A region of complete darkness; a place where light cannot penetrate. Also figurative. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > transparency or translucence > opacity > [noun] > opaque object or medium
opaque1742
1742 E. Young Complaint: Night the First 4 Thro' this Opaque of Nature, and of Woe, This double Night, transmit one pitying ray, To lighten, and to chear.
?1760 J. Langhorne Poems Several Occasions 152 The golden Stars, As frightened at the strange opaque, retir'd.
1785 S. J. Pratt Tears of Genius 79 Not a gleam softens the black opaque.
1814 R. Southey Roderick xxi. 275 I watch'd..And deem'd the deep opake would blot her beams.
1824 S. E. Ferrier Inheritance xxxvi The light began to penetrate the dim opaque of his understanding.
1877 T. Cooper Poet. Wks. 218 Eyes..that cleft The dread opaque gleefully.
b. A shade for the eyes. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > instruments for protecting the sight > [noun] > shade
eyeshade1749
lightshade1799
shade1801
opaque1900
1900 Westm. Gaz. 21 Jan. 1/2 Mr. B., who has suffered by a lamp explosion, appeared with an opaque stuck over his forehead for the protection of his eyes from the rays of electric light.
c. A garment or material that is opaque rather than translucent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > [noun] > garment or article of
raileOE
i-wedeOE
reafOE
shroudc1000
weedOE
back-cloth?c1225
hatter?c1225
clouta1300
coverturec1300
garment1340
vesturec1384
clothc1385
vestmentc1386
jeryne?a1400
clothinga1425
gilla1438
raiment1440
haterella1450
vestimenta1500
indumenta1513
paitclaith1550
casceis1578
attire1587
amice1600
implements1601
cladment1647
enduement1650
vest1655
body garment1688
wearable1711
sledo1719
rag1855
number1894
opaque1903
daytimer1936
1903 Westm. Gaz. 20 Aug. 4/1 A red batiste of voile or open canvas is more lovable than a red face-cloth or serge or tweed or linen; and, again, it is to be noted how of these red opaques the linen is better than the others.
1990 Fashion Forecast Internat. Sept. 91/1 (advt.) The lycra-based quartette of two sheers and two opaques carry the hallmark of a distinctive woven waistband with logo.
1999 Daily Tel. 6 Sept. 14/4 The problem with plain black opaques is that they clash stylistically with the slightly folky, boho twist to many of this autumn's clothes.
d. A colour or finish that completely hides the previous finish. Also: one that is matt, not shiny or lustrous.
ΚΠ
1929 W. B. Pitkin Art of Rapid Reading v. 202 Certain colored opaques which are necessary to obtain a range of colors in our enamels cost from $4 to $6 a pound.
1985 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 9 Aug. a16 The Italian group of designers that in the early 1980's embraced the florid colors, opaques and particularly the prominent green and red tinctures.
2002 Glass Age (Nexis) 23 Oct. 33 The range of finishes includes, opaques, metallics, pearlescent and multi coloured finishes.
e. Mineralogy. A mineral that appears black in thin section when viewed in polarized light.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > [noun] > other general types
fluor1610
sulphur1799
amygdule1877
heavy mineral1893
fem1902
sal1902
stress mineral1913
opaque1960
1960 Jrnl. Sedimentary Petrol. 30 404 Southwestern Rhode Island beach sands are composed of a great variety of minerals, the most common of which are amphiboles.., and black opaques.
1982 Science 25 June 1406/3 The low albedo of type P [asteroids] is consistent with the presence of low-temperature opaques such as carbonaceous material.
2001 Jrnl. Arid Environments 48 475 The heavy minerals are dominated by opaques and pyroxenes.
2. Photography.
a. A substance used for producing an opaque area on a negative, as in retouching. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > chemicals > [noun] > others
accelerator1843
nitroglucose1852
restrainer1865
medium1867
intensifier1883
stop bath1898
opaque1908
bleacher1911
coupler1938
wash1953
1908 J. B. Schriever & T. H. Cummings Compl. Self-instructing Libr. Pract. Photogr. IV. xl. 322 To make the opaque, add one ounce of No. 1 to four ounces of No. 2.
1943 Chem. Abstr. 37 1946 (heading) Removing opaque from photographic negatives.
1953 A. Sussman Amateur Photographer's Handbk. (ed. 4) xiv. 254 To spot a negative you can use a little India ink or you can buy a cake of opaque.
b. A photographic print made on opaque paper, as opposed to a transparency. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > a photograph > [noun] > photograph by process
tithonograph1842
platinotype1844
daguerreotype1849
crystallotype1852
catalysotype1853
black print1855
sun print1855
blueprint1857
ferrotype1857
tin-type1864
pyro-photograph1869
opalotype1873
gelatine picture1875
hellenotype1875
panotype1875
silver print1878
autophotograph1880
platinum print1881
bromide print1885
solar1889
solar print1889
shadowgraph1896
skiagraph1896
rotograph1899
autochrome1902
rayogram1932
reduction print1933
photogram1934
blow-up1945
Polaroid1953
opaque1959
bromide1967
1959 Recomm. for Density & Contrast Range of Monochrome Films (B.S.I.) 5 Prints of black-and-white photographic opaques should be made in such a way that a middle tone..will have a reflection density within the range 0·5 to 0·7.
1969 Focal Encycl. Film & Television Techniques 518/1 Opaque, term contrasting with transparency, such as a lantern slide, to denote a printed picture on opaque paper.
1971 G. Chester et al. Television & Radio (ed. 4) xviii. 306 The area where a majority of films, slides, and opaques start on their transmission path is referred to as the ‘telecine’ or film projection room.
Compounds
opaque-looking adj.
ΚΠ
1847 J. H. Ingraham Paul Perril iv. 17 A dark chamber, dimly lighted by an opaque looking lantern.
1858 Househ. Words 4 Dec. 5/1 Opaque-looking grapes and shelly, earthy-looking pomegranates.
1996 Tulsa World (Nexis) 2 Dec. (Her World section) 8 Some people want that bright, white, opaque-looking Hollywood smile.
ΚΠ
1793 R. Burns Let. 26 Apr. (2003) II. 212 If any opaque-souled lubber of mankind complain.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
opaquev.
/ə(ʊ)ˈpeɪk/, U.S. /oʊˈpeɪk/ Originally poetic.
transitive. To render opaque.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > transparency or translucence > opacity > render opaque [verb (transitive)]
opacate1660
nubilatea1697
opaque1718
opacify1940
1718 T. Purney Chevalier de St. George ii. 11 Now Cynthia's Face was veil'd, high Heav'n opak'd.
1854 J. S. Bigg Night & Soul ii. 38 Those unhappy ones..Whose dead atmosphere opaques all things.
1880 S. Lanier Crystal in Poems 23 Not one but winks His ray, opaqued with intermittent mist.
1888 Sci. Amer. 59 235/3 The most..practical way of opaqueing the backgrounds on negatives of furniture.
1921 Science 14 Oct. 358/1 It is usually the practise to opaque the background of the negative as an aid in determining how far to carry the development to print.
1932 Amer. Jrnl. Bot. 19 731 (caption) Background opaqued for better contrast.
1980 J. Walker Graphic Arts Fund vi. 116/2 (caption) Stripping operations require sharp knives, scissors and brushes for opaquing pinholes.
1990 G. Bear Queen of Angels (1991) i. xxii. 127 The cab opaqued its windows and took them to another level, then stopped.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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