Revealed & Obvious Vocabulary

done or shown openly; plainly apparent

“His overt hostility made collaboration impossible.”

Origin: Old French overt `opened` from Latin apertus `open` from aperire `to open`

clear or obvious to the eye or mind

“Her talent was manifest from an early age.”

Origin: Latin manifestus `caught in the act, plain, clear` from manus `hand` + -festus `struck`

easily recognizable; obvious

“The patent absurdity of the claim was evident to all.”

Origin: Latin patens `lying open` from patere `to lie open`

able to be touched or felt; easily perceived

“The tension in the room was palpable.”

Origin: Latin palpabilis `that may be touched` from palpare `to touch gently`

standing out so as to be clearly visible

“His absence was conspicuous at the meeting.”

Origin: Latin conspicuus `visible, striking` from conspicere `to catch sight of`

completely lacking subtlety; obvious

“The blatant lie insulted everyone's intelligence.”

Origin: Possibly coined by Edmund Spenser in 1596, origin uncertain; possibly from Latin blatire `to babble`

conspicuously offensive or bad

“The flagrant disregard for rules led to penalties.”

Origin: Latin flagrans `blazing, burning` from flagrare `to blaze`

very obvious and disturbing

“The report contained glaring errors.”

Origin: Middle English glaren `to shine brightly` from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German glaren

sharply evident; complete or blunt

“The stark reality was hard to accept.”

Origin: Old English stearc `severe, strong, rigid` from Proto-Germanic starkaz

easy to perceive or detect; obvious

“His motives were transparent to everyone.”

Origin: Medieval Latin transparens `showing through` from Latin trans- `through` + parere `to appear`

expressed clearly; easy to understand

“Her lucid explanation clarified everything.”

Origin: Latin lucidus `light, bright, clear` from lucere `to shine` from lux `light`

stated clearly and in detail; leaving no doubt

“The instructions were explicit about the procedure.”

Origin: Latin explicitus `unfolded, set forth` from explicare `to unfold, explain`

not open to more than one interpretation

“The law must be clear and unambiguous.”

Origin: English un- `not` + ambiguous from Latin ambiguus `doubtful` from ambigere `to waver`

not able to be mistaken for anything else

“The unmistakable sound of thunder rolled across the sky.”

Origin: English un- `not` + mistake from Old Norse mistaka `to take in error`

not needing to be demonstrated or explained

“The conclusion was self-evident from the data.”

Origin: English self + evident from Latin evidens `obvious` from ex- `out` + videre `to see`

self-evident or unquestionable

“It is axiomatic that supply affects price.”

Origin: Greek axiomatikos from axioma `that which is thought worthy` from axios `worthy`

not able to be denied or disputed

“The evidence was incontrovertible.”

Origin: Latin in- `not` + controvertere `to turn against, dispute` from contra- `against` + vertere `to turn`

impossible to deny or disprove

“She presented irrefutable proof of his guilt.”

Origin: Latin in- `not` + refutare `to repel, rebut` from re- `back` + *futare `to beat`

unable to be denied or disputed

“His influence on the industry is undeniable.”

Origin: English un- `not` + deny from Old French denier from Latin denegare `to deny utterly`

to make known private or sensitive information

“She refused to divulge her sources.”

Origin: Latin divulgare `to publish, make common` from dis- `widely` + vulgare `to publish`

important; famous; sticking out

“He was a prominent member of the community.”

Origin: Latin prominens `jutting out` from prominere `to jut out` from pro- `forward` + minere `to project`

recognizably different in nature from something else

“There was a distinct smell of gas.”

Origin: Latin distinctus `separated, distinct` from distinguere `to distinguish` from dis- `apart` + stinguere `to prick`