transparency
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
the quality of being clear so that you can see through it.
the physical property of allowing light to pass through a material so that objects behind it can be distinctly seen.
Simple“The water in the mountain lake was famous for its perfect transparency.”
In context“The glass manufacturer achieved a level of transparency that made the display cases almost invisible to the museum visitors.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
the quality of being open and honest, without hiding secrets.
the characteristic of being easy to perceive or detect; in a social context, the lack of hidden agendas or conditions.
Simple“The public demanded more transparency from the government about how taxes are spent.”
In context“The new CEO promised radical transparency regarding the company's environmental impact and supply chain ethics.”
Synonyms - 03 C1 Advanced
a plastic sheet or film with a picture on it that you show using a projector.
a positive photographic image on a transparent base, viewed by transmitted light or via a projector.
Simple“The professor used a transparency on the overhead projector to show the map.”
In context“Before digital presentations became the norm, photographers would often submit large-format transparencies to magazines for high-quality reproduction.”
Synonymsslidediapositive - 04 C2 Proficiency
when a compressed file sounds or looks exactly like the original.
the state where a lossy compression codec produces output that is perceptually indistinguishable from the original uncompressed source.
Simple“This audio format offers transparency even at lower bitrates.”
In context“The engineer argued that the new algorithm achieved full transparency, meaning even trained listeners could not identify the compressed file in a blind test.”
Synonyms
“The changes are being introduced to give users "more transparency" about what they're hearing, Spotify says.”
“It had been testing models by both OpenAI and Anthropic, and found they too tried to carry out cyber-attacks - calling for "scrutiny, transparency, and action".”
Borrowed from Medieval Latin trānspārentia, equivalent to transparent + -cy.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.