explicit

clearly stated or shown

Roots

  • e- / ex-: out, out of, away, or forth
  • plic: fold, fold together, or unfold

Other words with the plic root

  • complicate: to make something harder by folding in more parts
  • explicable: able to be explained
  • implication: something suggested but not directly stated
  • implicit: implied rather than directly stated
  • imply: to suggest without stating directly

Explicit unfolds the meaning outward so nobody has to guess what is hidden inside.

The instructions were explicit about the deadline but vague about the format.

Open the AstraWords vocabulary map