The desert bloodwood was first formally described in 1985 by Denis John Carr and Stella Grace Maisie Carr who gave it the name Eucalyptus opaca and published the description in their book Eucalyptus 1 - New or little-known species of the Corymbosae. The type specimens were collected in 1983 from the Lasseter Highway near Kata Tjuta. In 1995, Ken Hill and Lawrie Johnson changed the name to Corymbia opaca, publishing the change in the journal Telopea. The specific epithet (opaca) is derived from the Latin word opacus meaning darkened, dull, not shining or opaque.