clear and present danger
noun · n
Simple meaning
A doctrine adopted by the Supreme Court of the United States to determine under what circumstances limits can be placed on First Amendment freedoms of speech.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
klihrandprehzuhntdaynjerSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈklɪˈɹændpˈɹɛzəntˈdeɪndʒɚ
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.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A standard for judging when freedom of speech can be abridged
n
A doctrine adopted by the Supreme Court of the United States to determine under what circumstances limits can be placed on First Amendment freedoms of speech, press, or assembly.
A political thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and published on August 17, 1989.
A 1994 American action thriller film directed by Phillip Noyce and based on Tom Clancy's 1989 novel of the same name.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A standard for judging when freedom of speech can be abridged
Used this way, clear and present danger is a specialist word with a mildly favourable edge. It turns up most in technical or specialist writing contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly positive
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Positive and appreciative
- Usage feel
- Clinical and detached
Where it naturally appears
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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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.