explicit (C++) 

This keyword is a declaration specifier that can only be applied to in-class constructor declarations. An explicit constructor cannot take part in implicit conversions. It can only be used to explicitly construct an object.

Example

The following program will fail to compile because of the explicit keyword. To resolve the error, remove the explicit keywords and adjust the code in g.

// spec1_explicit.cpp
// compile with: /EHsc
#include <stdio.h>

class C 
{
public:
    int i;
    explicit C(const C&)   // an explicit copy constructor
    {
        printf_s("\nin the copy constructor");
    }
    explicit C(int i )   // an explicit constructor
    {
        printf_s("\nin the constructor");
    }

    C()
    {
        i = 0;
    }
};

class C2
{
public:
    int i;
    explicit C2(int i )   // an explicit constructor
    {
    } 
};

C f(C c)
{   // C2558
    c.i = 2;
    return c;   // first call to copy constructor
}

void f2(C2)
{
}

void g(int i)
{
    f2(i);   // C2558
    // try the following line instead
    // f2(C2(i));
}

int main()
{
    C c, d;
    d = f(c);   // c is copied
}

See Also

Reference

C++ Keywords
Conversions