/ klɪə(r); NAmE klɪr/ adjective , verb , adverb
■ adjective
( clear·er , clear·est )
WITHOUT CONFUSION / DOUBT
1.
easy to understand and not causing any confusion :
She gave me clear and precise directions.
Are these instructions clear enough?
You'll do as you're told, is that clear?
This behaviour must stop—do I make myself clear (= express myself clearly so there is no doubt about what I mean) ?
I hope I made it clear to him that he was no longer welcome here.
2.
clear (to sb) (that) | clear what, how, whether, etc. obvious and leaving no doubt at all :
This is a clear case of fraud.
She won the election by a clear majority.
His height gives him a clear advantage.
It was quite clear to me that she was lying.
It is not clear what they want us to do.
3.
clear (about / on sth) | clear what, how, whether, etc. having or feeling no doubt or confusion :
Are you clear about the arrangements for tomorrow?
My memory is not clear on that point.
I'm still not clear what the job involves.
We need a clear understanding of the problems involved.
MIND
4.
thinking in a sensible and logical way, especially in a difficult situation :
a clear thinker
You'll need to keep a clear head for your interview.
EASY TO SEE / HEAR
5.
easy to see or hear :
The photo wasn't very clear.
The voice on the phone was clear and strong.
She was in Australia but I could hear her voice as clear as a bell .
TRANSPARENT
6.
that you can see through :
The water was so clear we could see the bottom of the lake.
clear glass
a clear colourless liquid
SKY / WEATHER
7.
without cloud or mist :
a clear blue sky
On a clear day you can see France.
SKIN
8.
without spots or marks :
clear skin
a clear complexion
EYES
9.
bright and lively
NOT BLOCKED
10.
clear (of sth) free from things that are blocking the way or covering the surface of sth :
The road was clear and I ran over.
All exits must be kept clear of baggage.
You won't get a clear view of the stage from here.
I always leave a clear desk at the end of the day.
CONSCIENCE
11.
if you have a clear conscience or your conscience is clear , you do not feel guilty
FREE FROM STH BAD
12.
clear of sth free from sth that is unpleasant :
They were still not clear of all suspicion.
We are finally clear of debt.
NOT TOUCHING / NEAR
13.
[ not before noun ] clear (of sb/sth) not touching sth; a distance away from sth :
The plane climbed until it was clear of the clouds.
Make sure you park your car clear of the entrance.
PERIOD OF TIME
14.
[ only before noun ] whole or complete :
Allow three clear days for the letter to arrive.
SUM OF MONEY
15.
[ only before noun ] remaining when taxes, costs, etc. have been taken away;
SYN net :
They had made a clear profit of £2 000.
PHONETICS
16.
( of a speech sound ) produced with the central part of the tongue close to the top of the mouth. In many accents of English, clear /l/ is used before a vowel, as in leave .
OPP dark
•
IDIOMS
- be clear sailing
- (as) clear as day
- (as) clear as mud
- in the clear
—more at field noun , head noun , loud adverb
■ verb
REMOVE STH / SB
1.
[ vn ] clear A (of B) | clear B (from / off A) to remove sth that is not wanted or needed from a place :
I cleared my desk of papers.
Clear all those papers off the desk.
I had cleared my desk before I left.
It's your turn to clear the table (= to take away the dirty plates, etc. after a meal) .
She cleared a space on the sofa for him to sit down.
The streets had been cleared of snow.
The remains of the snow had been cleared from the streets.
It was several hours before the road was cleared after the accident.
—see also clear away
2.
[ vn ] to make people leave a place :
After the bomb warning, police cleared the streets.
NOT BE BLOCKED
3.
[ v ] to move freely again; to no longer be blocked :
The traffic took a long time to clear after the accident.
The boy's lungs cleared and he began to breathe more easily.
OF SKY / WEATHER
4.
[ v ] when the sky or the weather clears , it becomes brighter and free of cloud or rain :
The sky cleared after the storm.
The rain is clearing slowly.
OF LIQUID
5.
[ v ] when a liquid clears , it becomes transparent and you can see through it :
The muddy water slowly cleared.
OF SMOKE, etc.
6.
[ v ] clear (away) when smoke, fog , etc. clears , it disappears so that it is easier to see things :
The mist will clear by mid-morning.
YOUR HEAD / MIND
7.
if your head or mind clears , or you clear it, you become free of thoughts that worry or confuse you or the effects of alcohol, a blow, etc. and you are able to think clearly :
[ v ]
As her mind cleared, she remembered what had happened.
[ vn ]
I went for a walk to clear my head.
OF FACE / EXPRESSION
8.
[ v ] if your face or expression clears , you stop looking angry or worried
PROVE SB INNOCENT
9.
[ vn ] clear sb (of sth) to prove that sb is innocent :
She was cleared of all charges against her.
Throughout his years in prison, he fought to clear his name .
GIVE OFFICIAL PERMISSION
10.
[ vn ] clear sth (with sb/sth) to give or get official approval for sth to be done :
His appointment had been cleared by the board.
I'll have to clear it with the manager.
11.
[ vn ] to give official permission for a person, a ship, a plane or goods to leave or enter a place :
The plane had been cleared for take-off.
to clear goods through customs
12.
[ vn ] to decide officially, after finding out information about sb, that they can be given special work or allowed to see secret papers :
She hasn't been cleared by security.
MONEY
13.
if a cheque that you pay into your bank account clears , or a bank clears it, the money is available for you to use :
[ v ]
Cheques usually take three working days to clear.
[also vn ]
14.
[ vn ] to gain or earn a sum of money as profit :
She cleared £1 000 on the deal.
15.
[ vn ] if you clear a debt or a loan, you pay all the money back
GET OVER / PAST
16.
[ vn ] to jump over or get past sth without touching it :
The horse cleared the fence easily.
The car only just cleared (= avoided hitting) the gatepost.
IN SPORT
17.
[ v , vn ] ( in football ( soccer ) and some other sports ) if you clear a ball, or a ball clears , it is kicked or hit away from the area near your own goal
•
IDIOMS
- clear the air
- clear the decks
- clear your throat
- clear the way (for sth / for sth to happen)
—more at coast noun , cobweb
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- clear away | clear sth away
- clear off
- clear out (of ... )
- clear out | clear sth out
- clear up
- clear up | clear sth up
- clear sth up
■ adverb
NOT NEAR / TOUCHING
1.
clear (of sth) away from sth; not near or touching sth :
Stand clear of the train doors.
He injured his arm as he jumped clear of the car.
By lap two Walker was two metres clear of the rest of the runners.
ALL THE WAY
2.
( especially NAmE ) all the way to sth that is far away :
She could see clear down the highway into the town.
•
IDIOMS
- keep / stay / steer clear (of sb/sth)
—more at way noun
••
SYNONYMS
clear
obvious ♦ apparent ♦ evident ♦ plain ♦ crystal clear
These words all describe sth that is easy to see or understand and leaves no doubts or confusion.
clear
easy to see or understand and leaving no doubts:
It was quite clear to me that she was lying.
obvious
easy to see or understand:
It's obvious from what he said that something is wrong.
apparent
[not usually before noun] ( rather formal ) easy to see or understand:
It was apparent from her face that she was really upset.
evident
( rather formal ) easy to see or understand:
The orchestra played with evident enjoyment.
plain
easy to see or understand:
He made it very plain that he wanted us to leave.
which word?
These words all have almost exactly the same meaning. There are slight differences in register and patterns of use. If you make sth clear / plain , you do so deliberately because you want people to understand sth; if you make sth obvious , you usually do it without meaning to: I hope I make myself obvious. • Try not to make it so clear / plain. In the expressions clear majority , for obvious reasons , for no apparent reason and plain to see , none of the other words can be used instead. You can have a clear / obvious / plain case of sth but not an: evident case of sth . Apparent and evident are both rather formal. They can always be replaced by obvious . Obvious and evident can both be used before a noun for an emotion, meaning that the emotion is easy to see with your eyes:
She read the letter out with obvious / evident reluctance.
crystal clear
very easy to see or understand, leaving no doubt or confusion at all:
I want to make my meaning crystal clear.
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
clear / obvious / apparent / evident / plain / crystal clear to sb/sth
clear / obvious / apparent / evident / plain / crystal clear that / what / who / how / where / why...
to be / look / seem / become / make sth clear / obvious / apparent / evident / plain / crystal clear
perfectly / quite / very clear / obvious / apparent / evident / plain
fairly / pretty clear / obvious / apparent / evident / plain
not at all clear / obvious / apparent / evident / plain
••
WORD FAMILY
clear adjective
clarity noun
clarify verb
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : from Old French cler , from Latin clarus .