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''conspicuous'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20250815012337-00-⌔

conspicuous - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

Adjective

conspicuous (comparative more conspicuous, superlative most conspicuous)

• Obvious or easy to notice.
  • ✤ Synonyms: apparent, evident; observable, perceivable; see also Thesaurus: obvious, Thesaurus: perceptible
  • ✤ Antonym: inconspicuous
  • ✤ He was conspicuous by his absence.
  • ✤ “No, don’t,” replied the superintendent; “in fact, I’d rather you made yourself conspicuous elsewhere. Go down to the landing stage and cross to New Brighton or Wallasey—doesn’t matter which—and come back. No doubt you will be seen, and reported to have gone across.”¹
  • ✤ […] 1. Handsignalmen, where needed, ought to wear a conspicuous orange/yellow cape (like many road workmen) to draw attention to them.²
• Noticeable or attracting attention, especially if unattractive.
  • ✤ Synonyms: attention-grabbing, flashy, prominent; see also Thesaurus: conspicuous
  • ✤ Antonym: inconspicuous
  • ✤ He had a conspicuous lump on his forehead.
  • ✤ For his height he had a small face. The combination made him conspicuous.³

Etymology

From Latin conspicuus (“visible, striking”), from cōnspicere (“to notice”), from con- (“with, together”) + specere (“to look at”).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kənˈspɪk.ju.əs/
• Audio (US): 🔊

Printed 2026-06-28.

(echo:: @ ⌗)

Footnotes

1. 1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 7, in Well Tackled! ‎${}^{[1]}$: ↩

2. 1964 April, “Letters: Rethinking emergency procedures”, in Modern Railways, page 274: ↩

3. 1969, Saul Bellow, Mr Sammler’s Planet, Penguin Books Ltd, page 6: ↩

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