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To make something opaque is to 'opaquen'?

How about to make something transparent? Is it 'transparentize'?

Edit 1 This is for a computer code library that manipulates colors. I have verbs to describe the actions like Brighten and Saturate, but I also want to find a nice words to describe making something more or less opaque.

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6 Answers

up vote 13 down vote accepted

There's opacify:

to cause to become opaque.

It sounds a bit awkward/made up, but the meaning is unambiguous.

Make transparent is more difficult. Clarify could work in certain limited contexts, but not in yours, I think. Unfortunately, I think a multi-word construction such as SetTransparency is your only choice here.

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I think opacify is a good option, I wish I had thought of that one. It's programming: nobody cares if it's a real or conventional word, as long as it is reasonably concise and its meaning is clear. – Peter Olson Mar 3 '11 at 17:31
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I hope we can opacify the oinsurgents without offending the opacifists. – chaos Mar 3 '11 at 17:33
@ShreevatsaR: ooffending, actually. :P – Jon Purdy Mar 3 '11 at 20:30
de-opacify? Is it the reverse of opacification? – GEdgar Aug 6 '12 at 21:04
The OED also attest opacate, as in this citation: 1890 H. Frederic Lawton Girl 20 ― Eyes··dimmed and opacated by the effects of dissipation. – tchrist Aug 7 '12 at 0:27
up vote 5 down vote

Translucent is between opaque and transparent, so... Translucify?

(As a bonus, it sounds bad-ass, like an album from a band called Translucifer!)

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Translucence is another property aside from opacity, it has a dispersion component.Or, hold it. Opacity is a combination of transmittance and dispersion. Still not the same things. – Bobbi Bennett Jul 17 '11 at 0:55
Love "translucify" - I need just this word right now and nothing like it exists... If I weren't writing in the voice of an 8-year-old I would use it right now... – user24533 Aug 6 '12 at 17:35
up vote 2 down vote

Opaquen is not a word. According to the Random House Dictionary, opaque is an acceptable word as an adjective, a noun (i.e. something that is opaque), or as a verb (i.e. to cause to be opaque).

However, people reading your code (undrestandably) might not realize that you are using opaque as a verb, so it probably is not the best option. I would reccommend SetOpacity.

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SetOpacity would work if I was actually setting the opacity. This code changes the opacity by an amount (like a percent). I more or less move the opacity towards a certain direction (either totaly transparent or totaly opaque), so I am going with MoreOpaque and LessOpaque despite my dislike to this. – ja72 Mar 3 '11 at 17:22
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How about ChangeOpacity? – Peter Olson Mar 3 '11 at 17:24
up vote 1 down vote

I don't know of any verbs for your uses of to make something xxx. If there are any, they will likely not be known to your average audience, so it's best to stick with the to make form for the sake of clarity.

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Thats the problem when you are trying to use common language for programming. I don't want to write a MakeColorMoreOpaque(amount) function, but a Opaquen(amount) function. – ja72 Mar 3 '11 at 16:50
How about IncreaseOpacity? – The English Chicken Mar 3 '11 at 16:51
IncreaseOpacity only works if you are always wanting to increase it. A better name would be SetOpacity. – Peter Olson Mar 3 '11 at 17:03
up vote 1 down vote

I've never seen opaquen used; in its place, I've simply seen opaque verbed. For the inverse operation I've seen deopaque.

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This is probably because the -en suffix is usually used with monosyllabic stems. – Kosmonaut Mar 3 '11 at 16:49
I've seen opaque as a verb also, but it is not recognized as a verb by all dictionaries (not by Merriam Webster, at least) – The English Chicken Mar 3 '11 at 16:50
up vote 1 down vote

It depends on what you are making opaque.

Some words that can be used include: obfuscate, solidify, cloud, darken, muddle, and confuse.

Antonyms include: evanesce, clarify, purify, and lighten.

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