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clear

adjective · adverb · verb

Simple meaning

Free from clouds or mist or haze.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

klir
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈklɪɹ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. Free from clouds or mist or haze

  2. Free of obstacles.

  3. Free of ambiguity or doubt; easily understood.

  4. Bright; luminous; not dark or obscured.

  5. Transparent in colour.

  6. Without clouds.

adverb

  1. All the way; entirely.

  2. Free (or separate) from others.

  3. Not near something or touching it.

  4. In a clear manner; plainly.

verb

  1. transitive

    To remove obstructions, impediments or other unwanted items from.

    “Clear the leaves from the lawn.”

  2. Rid of obstructions

  3. transitive

    To remove (items or material) so as to leave something unobstructed or open.

  4. transitive

    To eliminate ambiguity or doubt from (a matter); to clarify or resolve; to clear up.

  5. intransitive

    To become free from obstruction or obscurement; to become transparent.

  6. transitive

    To remove from suspicion, especially of having committed a crime.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Free from clouds or mist or haze

Used this way, clear is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use clear

  • “Clear the leaves from the lawn.”verb
  • “The water had to be cleared through filtering.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

clear evidenceclear understandingclear ideaclear water

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • clearedadjectiveInflected form

    Rid of objects or obstructions such as e.g. trees and brush.

  • clearingnounInflected form

    A tract of land with few or no trees in the middle of a wooded area.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • clearancenounDerived noun

    The distance by which one thing clears another.

  • clearlyadverbDerived adverb

    Without doubt or question.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • clear sailingnounCompound term

    Easy unobstructed progress.

  • clear the airverbCompound term

    Dispel differences or negative emotions.

  • clear the throatverbCompound term

    Clear mucus or food from one's throat.

  • clear-thinkingadjectiveCompound term

    Not mentally confused.

  • clear upverbCompound term

    Make clear and (more) comprehensible.

  • clearing housenounCompound term

    A central collection place where banks exchange checks or drafts.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: free from clouds or mist or haze

brighttranslucentlimpid

Antonyms

Sense: free from clouds or mist or haze

cloudyopaqueunclear

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.