obviousness

ob·vi·ous

 (ŏb′vē-əs)

adj.

1. Easily perceived or understood; apparent. See Synonyms at apparent.

2. Easily seen through because of a lack of subtlety; transparent: an obvious political ploy that fooled no one.

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[From Latin obvius, from obviam, in the way, within reach : ob-, against; see ob- + viam, accusative sing. of via, way; see wegh- in Indo-European roots.]

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ob′vi·ous·ly adv.

ob′vi·ous·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Obviousness

 

See Also: CLARITY, VISIBILITY

1. (The magnificence of the Ambersons was) as conspicuous as a brass band at a funeral —Booth Tarkington
2. As conspicuous … as a butterfly among moths —George Feifer
3. As conspicuous as a second nose —Mike Sommer
4. As conspicuous as two fleas in a glass of milk, and about as welcome —Rosa Guy
5. Blatant as a slammed door —George Garrett
6. Her face was as easy to read as a crooked optometrist’s chart —Loren D. Estleman
7. It was written all over him [that he was prone to trouble] in letters like headlines —William Humphrey
8. Magnificence, like the size of a fortune, is always comparative —Booth Tarkington
9. Noticeable as perfume —Wallace Stegner
10. (The film has a payoff that’s as) obvious as a cream pie in the face —Gene Siskel, television review, October 13, 1986
11. Obvious as a gesture —Stephen Crane
12. Obvious as an elephant’s footprint —Anon
13. (Those two guys can’t move around … without being) obvious as turds on butcher blocks —Harold Adams
14. Obvious, like a poster forty feet high —J. B. Priestly
15. (Her thoughts and her emotions had all been) outspread … like jewels —Edith Wharton
16. Plain as a pig on a sofa —Flannery O’Connor
17. (The case was as) plain as a pikestaff —Arthur Train
18. Plain as graffiti on a brick wall —Elyse Sommer
19. Plain as the nose on a man’s face —Rabelais

    A variation by Robert Burton: “As clear and as manifest as the nose on a man’s face.”

20. Plain as the paint on a whore’s face —Stephen Longstreet
21. Stick out like a pregnant woman’s stomach —Anon
22. (He was) subtle as a salvo —Jonathan Gash
23. There’s no one so transparent as the person who thinks he’s devilish deep —W. Somerset Maugham
24. Transparent as water in a goldfish bowl —Anon
25. Unobtrusive as the roar of a lion —Erich Maria Remarque

Similes Dictionary, 1st Edition. © 1988 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Obviousness

 

plain as a pikestaff Plain as day, obvious, clear-cut, evident. This proverbial expression, dating from the late 16th century, is a variant of the earlier, now obsolete, plain as a packstaff. The allusion is to the simple style and plain, smooth surface of a pikestaff, a type of walking stick with a metal point at the lower end.

The evidence against him was as plain as a pikestaff. (Anthony Trollope, The Last Chronicle of Barset, 1867)

plain as the nose on your face Exceedingly obvious; extremely conspicuous. This concept was conveyed by Shakespeare in The Two Gentlemen of Verona:

Oh jest unseen, inscrutable, invisible, As a nose on a man’s face, or a weathercock on a steeple. (II, i)

The expression, clearly derived from the prominence of the nose on the human face, has maintained common usage through the centuries.

It is as plain as the nose on your face that there’s your origin. (Thomas Hardy, Pair Blue Eyes, 1873)

point-blank See CANDIDNESS.

Picturesque Expressions: A Thematic Dictionary, 1st Edition. © 1980 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

obviousness - the property of being easy to see and understand noticeability, noticeableness, patency conspicuousness - high visibility apparency, apparentness - the property of being apparent blatancy - the property of being both obvious and offensive; "the blatancy of his attempt to whitewash the crime was unforgivable" predominance, predomination - the quality of being more noticeable than anything else; "the predomination of blues gave the painting a quiet tone"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

Translations

Evidenz

evidenza

obviousness

[ˈɒbviəsnɪs] n [answer, solution, idea] → caractère m évident

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

obviousness

n → Offensichtlichkeit f, → Deutlichkeit f; amused by the obviousness of his reply → belustigt über die Eindeutigkeit or Plumpheit seiner Antwort

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007