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conspicuous

 - 3 dictionary results

con⋅spic⋅u⋅ous

  [kuhn-spik-yoo-uhs]
Use conspicuous in a Sentence
–adjective
1. easily seen or noticed; readily visible or observable: a conspicuous error.
2. attracting special attention, as by outstanding qualities or eccentricities: He was conspicuous by his booming laughter.
Origin:
1535–45; < L conspicuus visible, conspicuous, equiv. to conspic(ere) (see conspectus ) + -uus deverbal adj. suffix; cf. contiguous, continuous, -ous

Related forms:
con⋅spic⋅u⋅ous⋅ly, adverb
con⋅spic⋅u⋅ous⋅ness, con⋅spi⋅cu⋅i⋅ty  [kon-spi-kyoo-i-tee] , noun

Synonyms:
1. manifest, noticeable, clear, marked, salient. 2. prominent, striking, noteworthy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To conspicuous
con·spic·u·ous   (kən-spĭk'yōō-əs)   
adj.  

  1. Easy to notice; obvious.

  2. Attracting attention, as by being unusual or remarkable; noticeable. See Synonyms at noticeable.


[From Latin cōnspicuus, from cōnspicere, to observe : com-, intensive pref.; see com- + specere, to look; see spek- in Indo-European roots.]
con·spic'u·ous·ly adv., con·spic'u·ous·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

conspicuous 
1545, from L. conspicuus "open to view," from conspicere "to look at, observe," from com- intensive prefix + specare (see spy). Phrase conspicuous by its absence (1859) is said to be from Tacitus ("Annals" iii.76), in a passage about certain images: "sed præfulgebant ... eo ipso quod effigies eorum non visebantur."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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