Etimology
From Middle English clere, from Anglo-Norman cler, from Old French cler (Modern French clair), from Latin clarus. Displaced native Middle English schir (“clear, pure”) (from Old English scīr (“clear, bright”)), Middle English skere (“clear, sheer”) (from Old English scǣre and Old Norse skǣr (“sheer, clear, pure”)), Middle English smolt (“clear (of mind), serene”) (from Old English smolt (“peaceful, serene”)). Cognate with Danish klar, Dutch klaar, French clair, German klar, Italian chiaro, Norwegian klar, Portuguese claro, Romanian clar, Spanish claro, and Swedish klar.
adjective
clear (comparative clearer, superlative clearest)
Transparent in colour.
Bright; luminous; not dark or obscured.
Free of obstacles.
Without clouds.
(meteorology) Of the sky, such that less than one eighth of its area is obscured by clouds.
Free of ambiguity or doubt; easily understood.
Distinct, sharp, well-marked.
(figuratively) Free of guilt, or suspicion.
(of a soup) Without a thickening ingredient.
Possessing little or no perceptible stimulus.
(Scientology) Free from the influence of engrams; see Clear (Scientology).
Able to perceive clearly; keen; acute; penetrating; discriminating.
Not clouded with passion; serene; cheerful.
Easily or distinctly heard; audible.
Unmixed; entirely pure.
Without defects or blemishes, such as freckles or knots.
Without diminution; in full; net.
(of a railway signal) Showing a green aspect, allowing a train to proceed past it.
(MLE) Good, the best.
(MLE) Better than, superior to.
Examples
as clear as crystal
The windshield was clear and clean.
Congress passed the President’s Clear Skies legislation.
The driver had mistakenly thought the intersection was clear.
The coast is clear.
Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path […]. It twisted and turned, […] and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn. And, back of the lawn, was a big, old-fashioned house, with piazzas stretching in front of it, and all blazing with lights. 'Twas the house I'd seen the roof of from the beach.
" […] On the 18th of October, 1841, a very intense magnetic disturbance was recorded, and amongst other curious facts mentioned is that of the detention of the 10:05pm express train at Exeter for 16 minutes, as from the magnetic disturbance affecting the needles so powerfully, it was impossible to ascertain if the line was clear at Starcross. The superintendent at Exeter reported the next morning that someone was playing tricks with the instruments, and would not let them work."
clear weather; a clear day
Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. The clear light of the bright autumn morning had no terrors for youth and health like hers.
He gave clear instructions not to bother him at work.
Do I make myself clear?
I'm still not quite clear on what some of these words mean.
From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. […] But viewed from high up in one of the growing number of skyscrapers in Sri Lanka’s capital, it is clear that something extraordinary is happening: China is creating a shipping hub just 200 miles from India’s southern tip.
NR Chairman Sir Peter Hendy had made it clear that he didn't want anything that smacked of the bus shelters seen at many small, usually unstaffed stations.
Synonym: conspicuous
a clear conscience
Statesman, yet friend to truth! in soul sincere, In action faithful, and in honour clear
clear of texture; clear of odor
Yes, and Jane came by with a lock of your hair. She said that you gave it to her that night that you planned to go clear. Did you ever go clear?
a clear intellect; a clear head
Mother of Science, Now I feel thy Power Within me cleere, not onely to diſcerne Things in thir Cauſes, but to trace the wayes Of higheſt Agents
with a countenance as clear / As friendship wears at feasts
Hark! the numbers, soft and clear Gently steal upon the ear
clear sand
a clear complexion; clear lumber
high school girls with clear-skinned smiles
a clear profit
I often wished that I had clear For life, six hundred pounds a year
The signals were clear to allow the train through Soham, as it steadily approached.
Nando's is clear.
Spurs are clear of Arsenal.
Related words
synonyms
(transparency): pellucid, transparent; See also Thesaurus:transparent
(free of ambiguity or doubt): See also Thesaurus:comprehensible of Thesaurus:explicit
(distinct): See also Thesaurus:distinct
(easily or distinctly heard): See also Thesaurus:audible
(unmixed): homogeneous
antonyms
(antonym(s) of "transparency"): opaque, turbid
(antonym(s) of "bright"): See also Thesaurus:dark
(antonym(s) of "without clouds"): cloudy, nebulous; See also Thesaurus:nebulous
(antonym(s) of "free of ambiguity or doubt"): See also Thesaurus:incomprehensible and Thesaurus:confusing
(antonym(s) of "of a soup"): thick
obscure
hyponyms
crystal clear
related terms
clarity
in the clear
adverb
clear (not comparable)
All the way; entirely.
Not near something or touching it.
Free (or separate) from others.
In a clear manner; plainly.
Examples
I threw it clear across the river to the other side.
Stand clear of the rails, a train is coming.
Much soul-searching is going on at the west London club who, just seven weeks ago, were five points clear at the top of the table and playing with the verve with which they won the title last season.
Now clear I understand What oft my steadiest thoughts have searched in vain
I want you to know how he spoke: he spoke loud, and he spoke clear.
Can't they see for themselves? Course not. Looks like dust to them, so they can't see it clear at all
I would get very short with people and speak clear of my feelings without consideration of their feelings.
Then I heard clear your mother's voice, crying out in distress!
Now when God called him, Moses told God immediately that he could not speak clear enough to be this leader.
verb
clear (third-person singular simple present clears, present participle clearing, simple past and past participle cleared)
(transitive) To remove obstructions, impediments or other unwanted items from.
(transitive) To remove (items or material) so as to leave something unobstructed or open.
(intransitive) To leave abruptly; to clear off or clear out.
(intransitive) To become free from obstruction or obscurement; to become transparent.
(transitive) To eliminate ambiguity or doubt from (a matter); to clarify or resolve; to clear up.
(transitive) To remove from suspicion, especially of having committed a crime.
(transitive) To pass without interference; to miss.
(transitive, activities such as jumping or throwing) To exceed a stated mark.
(transitive, video games) To finish or complete (a stage, challenge, or game).
(intransitive) Of a check or financial transaction, to go through as payment; to be processed so that the money is transferred.
(transitive, business) To earn a profit of; to net.
(transitive) To approve or authorise for a particular purpose or action; to give clearance to.
(transitive) To obtain approval or authorisation in respect of.
(intransitive) To obtain a clearance.
(transitive) To obtain permission to use (a sample of copyrighted audio) in another track.
To disengage oneself from incumbrances, distress, or entanglements; to become free.
(transitive, intransitive, sports) To hit, kick, head, punch etc. (a ball, puck) away in order to defend one's goal.
(transitive, computing) To reset or unset; to return to an empty state or to zero.
(transitive, computing) To style (an element within a document) so that it is not permitted to float at a given position.
(transitive, firearms) To unload a firearm, or undergo an unloading procedure, in order to prevent negligent discharge; for safety reasons, to check whether one's firearm is loaded or unloaded.
Examples
Police took two hours to clear the road.
If you clear the table, I'll wash up.
“A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; and she looked it, always trim and trig and smooth of surface like a converted yacht cleared for action. Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, […].
Faith, Dick, I muſt confeſs, ’tis true That many knotty Points there are, Which All diſcuſs, but Few can clear.
‘Children crawled over each other like little grey worms in the gutters,’ he said. ‘The only red things about them were their buttocks and they were raw. Their faces looked as if snails had slimed on them and their mothers were like great sick beasts whose byres had never been cleared. […]’
Since the mid-1980s, when Indonesia first began to clear its bountiful forests on an industrial scale in favour of lucrative palm-oil plantations, “haze” has become an almost annual occurrence in South-East Asia. The cheapest way to clear logged woodland is to burn it, producing an acrid cloud of foul white smoke that, carried by the wind, can cover hundreds, or even thousands, of square miles.
Please clear all this stuff off the table.
The loggers came and cleared the trees.
[…] Aristotle has brought to explain his Doctrine of Substantial Forms, when he tells us that a Statue lies hid in a Block of Marble; and that the Art of the statuary only clears away the superfluous Matter, and removes the Rubbish.
Then the whole population cleared into the forest, expecting all kinds of calamities to happen, while, on the other hand, the steamer Fresleven commanded left also in a bad panic, in charge of the engineer, I believe.
When the road cleared we continued our journey.
After a heavy rain, the sky cleared nicely for the evening.
Shake the test tube well, and the liquid should slowly clear.
We need to clear this issue once and for all.
The court cleared the man of murder.
[…] yet I appeal to the reader, and am sure he will clear me from Partiality.
How! Wouldst thou clear rebellion?
The door just barely clears the table as it closes.
The leaping horse easily cleared the hurdles.
She was the first female high jumper to clear two metres.
I cleared the first level in 36 seconds.
The check might not clear for a couple of days.
He's been clearing seven thousand a week.
The profit which she cleared on the cargo […] cannot be estimated at less than a thousand guineas.
Air traffic control cleared the plane to land.
The marketing department has cleared the press release for publication.
I've cleared the press release with the marketing department, so go ahead and publish it.
The steamer cleared for Liverpool today.
Beſides, he that cleares at once will relapſe: for finding himſelfe out of ſtraights, he will reuert to his cuſtomes. But hee that cleareth by degrees, induceth an habite of frugality, and gaineth as well vpon his minde, as vpon his Eſtate.
The goalkeeper rushed forward to clear the ball.
A low cross came in, and Smith cleared.
Bolton then went even closer when Elmander's cross was met by a bullet header from Holden, which forced a wonderful tip over from Cech before Drogba then cleared the resulting corner off the line.
to clear an array; to clear a single bit in a value
To get the footer acting right, you need to float it and clear it on both margins.
To prevent any shooting accidents, remember to clear your pistol and stay aware of your surroundings.
Related words
synonyms
(clear a forest): stub
noun
clear (plural clears)
(carpentry) Full extent; distance between extreme limits; especially; the distance between the nearest surfaces of two bodies, or the space between walls.
(video games) The completion of a stage or challenge, or of the whole game.
(Scientology) A person who is free from the influence of engrams.
Examples
a room ten feet square in the clear
It took me weeks to achieve a one-credit clear .
Today, clear status can be conferred only by high ranking ministers of the church, and clears are not presented for examination by outsiders.