Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words (original) (raw)
explicit
adjective
- fully and clearly expressed or demonstrated; leaving nothing merely implied; unequivocal:
explicit instructions; an explicit act of violence; explicit language.
Synonyms: unambiguous, exact, precise, definite, express
Antonyms: ambiguous, indefinite - clearly developed or formulated:
explicit knowledge; explicit belief. - definite and unreserved in expression; outspoken:
He was quite explicit as to what he expected us to do for him.
Synonyms: unabashed, forthright, open - having sexual acts or nudity clearly depicted:
explicit movies; explicit books. - Mathematics.
(of a function) having the dependent variable expressed directly in terms of the independent variables, as y = 3 x + 4.
Compare
implicit ( def 4 )
.
/ ɪkˈsplɪsɪt /
adjective
- precisely and clearly expressed, leaving nothing to implication; fully stated
explicit instructions - graphically detailed, leaving little to the imagination
sexually explicit scenes - openly expressed without reservations; unreserved
- maths
(of a function) having an equation of the form y=f ( x ), in which y is expressed directly in terms of x, as in y=x 4+ x + z
Compare implicit
/ ɪkˈsplɪsɪt /
(no translation)
- the end; an indication, used esp by medieval scribes, of the end of a book, part of a manuscript, etc
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Derived Forms
- exˈplicitness, noun
- exˈplicitly, adverb
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Other Words From
- ex·plic·it·ly adverb
- ex·plic·it·ness noun
- o·ver·ex·plic·it adjective
- qua·si-ex·plic·it adjective
- su·per·ex·plic·it adjective
- un·ex·plic·it adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of explicit1
First recorded in
1605–15;
from Latin explicitus “unfolded, set forth,” variant past participle of explicāre; explicate
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Word History and Origins
Origin of explicit1
C17: from Latin explicitus unfolded, from explicāre; see
explicate
Origin of explicit2
Late Latin, probably short for explicitus est liber the book is unfolded (or complete); shortened by analogy with
incipit
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Example Sentences
The man behind the infamous Wonka experience in Glasgow has been put on the sex offenders register after bombarding a woman with explicit pictures.
Downplaying Trump’s incendiary threats of violence until just a few weeks before the election, provided both tacit and explicit sanction to xenophobic, racist and authoritarian impulses that have long simmered in the American undercurrent.
"There was never anything that was explicit to say that, but I certainly felt a threat."
But there are no explicit requirements to do so.
He has previously set out his support for a change in the law, but will he make that view explicit again this time?