Meaning & use
nontransparent
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Not allowing you to see through or understand something clearly.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb like 'be' or 'seem': a nontransparent process; the process seems nontransparent.
Patterns
- nontransparent process
- nontransparent decision
- nontransparent material
The committee's nontransparent decision-making left the public confused.
The company was criticized for its nontransparent pricing system.
The glass was nontransparent, so we couldn't see inside the room.
adjectivenot comparablecomputing
In computing, not allowing data or information to be seen or accessed by users.
Grammar: Used before a noun: a nontransparent file format.
Patterns
- nontransparent file
- nontransparent system
The software stores data in a nontransparent format that only the program can read.
Users complained that the nontransparent interface made it hard to find settings.
Common combinations
- nontransparent process
- The hiring process was nontransparent and many candidates felt ignored.
- nontransparent pricing
- Customers are frustrated by the airline's nontransparent pricing.
- nontransparent government
- The report criticized the nontransparent government for hiding important information.
- nontransparent material
- The curtains are made of a nontransparent material that blocks sunlight.
Synonyms and how they differ
- opaque
- Opaque is more common for physical materials that block light; nontransparent is broader and often used for processes or systems.
- unclear
- Unclear means not easy to understand, but it does not imply a deliberate lack of openness like nontransparent often does.
- secretive
- Secretive suggests a person or group intentionally hides information; nontransparent can describe systems or decisions without suggesting a person's intent.
Opposites
Word family
- transparent adjective
- Allowing light to pass through or easy to understand.
- transparency noun
- The quality of being open and easy to understand, or the state of allowing light through.
- nontransparency noun
- The state of being not transparent; lack of openness.
Commonly confused: nontransparent or nontransparent?
nontransparent vs nontransparent
Not to be confused with 'untransparent', which is very rare and not standard.
Practice
The company's accounting methods were completely ______, so investors could not tell where the money was going.
Choose one answer.
The sentence describes a lack of openness, so 'nontransparent' fits. 'Transparent' and 'clear' would mean the opposite, and 'obvious' does not describe a lack of clarity in this context.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “nontransparent”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.