--- config.def.h
+++ config.def.h
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 /* Default settings; can be overriden by command line. */
 
 static int topbar = 1;                      /* -b  option; if 0, dmenu appears at bottom     */
+static const unsigned int alpha = 0xf0;
 /* -fn option overrides fonts[0]; default X11 font or font set */
 static const char *fonts[] = {
 	"monospace:size=10"
@@ -13,6 +14,13 @@ static const char *colors[SchemeLast][2] = {
 	[SchemeSel] = { "#eeeeee", "#005577" },
 	[SchemeOut] = { "#000000", "#00ffff" },
 };
+
+static const unsigned int alphas[SchemeLast][2] = {
+	[SchemeNorm] = { OPAQUE, alpha },
+	[SchemeSel] = { OPAQUE, alpha },
+	[SchemeOut] = { OPAQUE, alpha },
+};
+
 /* -l option; if nonzero, dmenu uses vertical list with given number of lines */
 static unsigned int lines      = 0;