clar ‧ i ‧ fy AC /ˈklærəfaɪ, ˈklærɪfaɪ/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle clarified , present participle clarifying , third person singular clarifies ) [transitive]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ clarity , ↑ clearance , ↑ clearing , ↑ clarification , ↑ clearness ; verb : ↑ clear , ↑ clarify ; adverb : ↑ clear , ↑ clearly ; adjective : ↑ clear ≠ ↑ unclear ]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: clarifier , from Late Latin clarificare , from Latin clarus ; ⇨ ↑ clear 1 ]
1 . formal to make something clearer or easier to understand ⇨ clarification
clarify issues/a statement/matters etc
Could you clarify one or two points for me?
Reporters asked him to clarify his position (=say exactly what his beliefs are) on welfare reform.
clarify how/what etc
The report aims to clarify how these conclusions were reached.
2 . to make something cleaner or purer by heating it:
clarified butter