INDEX:
clear and easy to understand
1. clear and easy to understand
2. to make something completely clear
3. not clear
4. when it is not clear what is happening or why something happens
5. to make something unclear
clear and easy to see
6. clear and easy to see
7. photographs/images/pictures
8. not easy to see clearly
RELATED WORDS
easily noticed or understood : ↑ OBVIOUS
see also
↑ UNDERSTAND/NOT UNDERSTAND
↑ CONFUSED
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1. clear and easy to understand
▷ clear /klɪəʳ/ [adjective]
▪ The instructions aren’t really clear.
clear on/about
▪ Children need clear rules about what is allowed and what isn’t
▪ You’re not allowed to use a dictionary in this exam. The rules are quite clear on this point.
clear to somebody
▪ It may be clear to you, but I haven’t got a clue what it means.
crystal clear
extremely clear
▪ Though he didn’t say anything directly his meaning was crystal clear.
clearly [adverb]
▪ The contract says quite clearly that the landlord must pay for all repairs to the house.
▪ Procedures for making insurance claims need to be more clearly defined.
clarity /ˈklærɪti, ˈklærəti/ [uncountable noun]
▪ The opera was sung with brilliant clarity and precision.
▷ plain /pleɪn/ [adjective usually before noun]
language, instructions etc that are plain are easy to understand because there is nothing difficult or unnecessary in them that might be confusing :
▪ She spoke slowly and carefully, using plain simple language.
▪ The document is written in plain English.
plainly [adverb]
▪ Tell me plainly what you want.
▪ The leaflet plainly states what the party’s position is on immigration.
▷ unambiguous /ˌʌnæmˈbɪgjuəs/ [adjective]
having only one possible meaning and therefore clear :
▪ Safety guidelines need to be plain and unambiguous.
▪ In last night’s speech, the president finally made an unambiguous statement on the issue of taxes.
unambiguously [adverb]
▪ The wording of the policy is written clearly and unambiguously.
▪ Congressman Phillips clearly and unambiguously expressed regret for his actions.
▷ explicit /ɪkˈsplɪsɪt, ɪkˈsplɪsət/ [adjective]
explicit instructions/account/warning etc
expressed very clearly and including every detail, so that no part of your meaning is hidden :
▪ Mr Beazley left explicit instructions that he wasn’t to be disturbed.
▪ I don’t quite understand -- could you be a bit more explicit?
explicit about
▪ He’s not being very explicit about his plans, is he?
explicitly [adverb]
▪ Students are explicitly forbidden to smoke in the dorm rooms.
▷ unequivocal /ˌʌnɪˈkwɪvək ə l/ [adjective] formal
so clear that the meaning or intention cannot be mistaken or doubted :
▪ The European Parliament has given the plan its unequivocal support.
▪ The answer to our request was an unequivocal ‘no’.
▪ This time his father was unequivocal: ‘You’re getting no more money from me, and that’s final.’
unequivocally [adverb]
▪ She unequivocally rejects any moves towards conciliation.
▷ expressly /ɪkˈspresli/ [adverb] formal
if you expressly state something, you state it very clearly and firmly, usually in writing :
expressly state something
▪ Although it’s not expressly stated in your contract, you are expected to attend weekend training sessions.
▪ It is expressly stated in the sales agreement that the buyer is to pay for any home inspection.
expressly forbid something
▪ The new law expressly forbids the importation of radioactive waste.
2. to make something completely clear
▷ make clear/make it clear /ˌmeɪk ˈklɪəʳ, ˌmeɪk ɪt ˈklɪəʳ/ [verb phrase]
▪ I tried to make clear exactly what I meant.
make it clear (that)
▪ The teacher made it clear that she would not allow talking in class.
make something clear
▪ We want to make the rules clear from the beginning.
make yourself clear
make it clear what you mean
▪ Am I making myself clear?
▷ clarify /ˈklærɪfaɪ, ˈklærəfaɪ/ [transitive verb] formal
to make something clearer, especially because people have not completely understood it :
▪ I hope this statement has helped to clarify a few points.
clarify your position
make it clear what you think about something and what your intentions are
▪ The senator tried to clarify his position on abortion.
clarification /ˌklærɪfəˈkeɪʃ ə n, ˌklærəfəˈkeɪʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
▪ Parts of the document are ambiguous and in need of clarification.
▷ spell out /ˌspel ˈaʊt/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to explain something in the clearest possible way, especially when you think it should be unnecessary to make things so simple or to give so many details :
▪ Do I have to spell out to you how important this is to me?
▪ Andrews was asked to spell out exactly how pensions would be affected.
▪ Campbell spelled out the reasons why staff reductions were necessary.
▷ lay it on the line /ˌleɪ ɪt ɒn ðə ˈlaɪn/ [verb phrase] informal
to state something clearly and strongly, especially something that other people may be unwilling to listen to or accept :
▪ I’m going to lay it on the line. If you don’t quit drinking, I’m going to leave you.
▷ in no uncertain terms /ɪn ˌnəʊ ʌnˌsɜːʳtn ˈtɜːʳmz/ [adverb]
if you say something in no uncertain terms, you make your meaning very clear, especially when you are annoyed with someone about something :
▪ The president of the university condemned racism on campus in no uncertain terms.
▪ You’ve got to let him know, in no uncertain terms, that you will no longer tolerate his abuse.
3. not clear
▷ unclear/not clear /ʌnˈklɪəʳ, nɒt ˈklɪəʳ/ [adjective]
▪ It is unclear how the man died.
▪ The instructions aren’t very clear.
▪ The terms of our tenancy agreement are somewhat unclear.
▪ The reasons for his resignation are still not clear.
unclear/not clear about
▪ His ideas are good, but he’s very unclear about how he’s going to achieve them.
unclear/not clear whether/what/why etc
▪ It’s not clear why Parks didn’t go straight to the police.
▪ It is unclear whether the she will agree to the new arrangements.
▷ ambiguous /æmˈbɪgjuəs/ [adjective]
having more than one possible meaning and therefore confusing and unclear :
▪ The document’s ambiguous wording makes it very difficult to follow.
deliberately ambiguous
intended to be difficult to understand
▪ The last part of her letter was deliberately ambiguous.
ambiguously [adverb]
▪ The contract was worded ambiguously.
ambiguity /ˌæmbɪˈgjuːəti, ˌæmbəˈgjuːəti/ [countable/uncountable noun]
▪ The report is full of ambiguities.
▷ imprecise /ˌɪmprɪˈsaɪs◂/ [adjective]
words or statements that are imprecise are unclear because they do not describe or explain something in an exact way when this is necessary :
▪ Many of the terms used in this book are imprecise.
▪ She gave me directions to the hotel, but they were, shall we say, somewhat imprecise.
▷ vague /veɪg/ [adjective]
unclear, especially because not enough details are given :
▪ There have been vague rumours of a coup.
vague idea
▪ I only had a vague idea of where the place was.
vague about
▪ He was rather vague about the reasons why he never finished school.
vaguely [adverb]
▪ The man is described vaguely as ‘medium build with brown hair’.
▷ confusing /kənˈfjuːzɪŋ/ [adjective]
a confusing situation, story, explanation, etc is difficult to understand because there does not seem to be any clear pattern or order to it :
▪ The kidnappers issued a series of confusing demands.
▪ I found the book really confusing. I kept forgetting who the characters were.
▪ Cricket can be a pretty confusing game for non-players.
▷ muddled/garbled /ˈmʌdld, ˈgɑːʳb ə ld/ [adjective]
if something that someone tells you is muddled or garbled, it is very unclear and confusing because they themselves have not really understood it very well :
▪ I heard a garbled version of the story from one of my students.
▪ Conroy made some muddled statement about how company policy has to be observed in these situations.
▪ The old woman’s directions were so garbled that I just rolled up the window and drove on.
▷ unintelligible /ˌʌnɪnˈtelɪdʒəb ə l◂, ˌʌnɪnˈtelədʒəb ə l◂/ [adjective]
unintelligible speech or writing is impossible to understand, for example because the words are not clear or it is written very badly :
▪ Her note was practically unintelligible.
▪ I liked the music but the lyrics were completely unintelligible.
4. when it is not clear what is happening or why something happens
▷ unclear/not clear /ʌnˈklɪəʳ, nɒt ˈklɪəʳ/ [adjective]
▪ It is not clear why the disease affects some people and not others.
▪ The circumstances surrounding his death are still unclear.
▷ confused /kənˈfjuːzd/ [adjective]
a situation that is confused is difficult to understand because a lot of things are happening at the same time and you do not have enough information about it :
▪ Newspaper reports give a rather confused picture of the state of the economy.
▪ US policy towards China has always seemed mixed and confused.
▪ The situation in the city centre is getting increasingly confused, and riot police have been told to stand by.
5. to make something unclear
▷ confuse /kənˈfjuːz/ [transitive verb]
to make a situation unclear by making it more complicated :
▪ The instructions just confused me even more.
▪ The Press Secretary gave a completely different version of events, which greatly confused the situation.
confuse matters further
make things more confused
▪ I think my explanation only confused matters further.
▷ blur /blɜːʳ/ [transitive verb]
to make the difference between two ideas or subjects unclear :
▪ The difference between male and female roles within the house has become blurred.
▪ The show blurs the difference between education and entertainment.
▪ His novels tend to blur the distinctions between reality and fantasy.
blurred [adjective]
▪ In the US, the dividing line between political and business interests has always been blurred.
▷ cloud/confuse the issue /ˌklaʊd, kənˌfjuːz ði ˈɪʃuː/ [verb phrase]
to make a subject or problem unclear by bringing in ideas, information, etc that are not really connected with it :
▪ The Supreme Court’s latest decision has only clouded the issue of gun control.
▪ I’m talking about social problems. My opponent is just confusing the issue when he keeps referring to family values.
6. clear and easy to see
▷ clear /klɪəʳ/ [adjective]
▪ He had left clear footprints in the wet sand.
▪ Even after two thousand years the writing is quite clear.
▪ Most of the photos were very sharp and clear.
clearly [adverb]
▪ I could clearly see a row of cottages at the top of the hill
▷ distinct /dɪˈstɪŋkt/ [adjective]
an object, line, or shape that is distinct is very clear so that you can easily see that it is separate from the things around it :
▪ The sign’s lettering was crisp and distinct.
▪ As night fell, the outline of the mountain became less distinct.
distinctly [adverb]
▪ Many of the stars that we see quite distinctly actually died millions of years ago.
7. photographs/images/pictures
▷ clear /klɪəʳ/ [adjective]
▪ High-definition television is amazing. The picture is so clear.
▪ The images of Mars sent back by the Voyager satellite are amazingly clear.
▷ sharp /ʃɑːʳp/ [adjective]
very clear, especially because the edges of objects are very easy to see :
▪ ‘Clear, sharp photos every time,’ the advertisement promised.
▪ Lichtenstein’s paintings are full of colours and sharp outlines - almost like children’s comics.
▷ in focus /ɪn ˈfəʊkəs/ [adjective phrase]
photographs, films, or images that are in focus have been photographed or filmed from the correct distance or with the camera correctly set, so that everything in the pictures is clear :
▪ Several of the photos weren’t in focus.
▪ Roy adjusted the TV set so that the picture was in sharper focus.
8. not easy to see clearly
▷ unclear/not clear /ʌnˈklɪəʳ, nɒt ˈklɪəʳ/ [adjective]
▪ I’ll try and read this, but the handwriting’s pretty unclear.
▪ The photos were not very clear.
▷ faint /feɪnt/ [adjective]
a picture, shape, image etc that is faint is unclear because it is a long way away, there is not enough light, or it was very lightly drawn :
▪ There were a few faint pencil lines on the page.
faint outline
▪ On the wall you could see the faint outline of where a picture had once hung.
▷ blurred /blɜːʳd/ [adjective]
unclear so that only the general shape can be seen, and not small details :
▪ Without my glasses, anything more than a few feet away looks blurred.
▪ All I have to remind me of Albert are a few letters and a blurred photo.
▷ fuzzy /ˈfʌzi/ [adjective]
a photograph, television picture etc that is fuzzy is not clear, and it is difficult to see separate edges and objects, often because there is something wrong with your equipment or with the way the pictures were taken :
▪ Police have only a fuzzy videotape of the bank robbery.
▪ a fuzzy snapshot
▷ hazy /ˈheɪzi/ [adjective]
a view that is hazy is not clear because there is a slight mist caused by heat, smoke etc :
▪ The view to the west was hazy.
hazy with
▪ The room was hazy with smoke.