clear

pronunciation

How to pronounce clear in British English: UK [klɪə(r)] word uk audio image

How to pronounce clear in American English: US [ klɪr] word us audio image

Noun:

the state of being free of suspicion
a clear or unobstructed space or expanse of land or water
Verb:

rid of obstructions
make a way or path by removing objects
become clear
grant authorization or clearance for
remove
go unchallenged; be approved
be debited and credited to the proper bank accounts
go away or disappear
pass by, over, or under without making contact
make free from confusion or ambiguity; make clear
free from payment of customs duties, as of a shipment
clear from impurities, blemishes, pollution, etc.
yield as a net profit
make as a net profit
earn on some commercial or business transaction; earn as salary or wages
sell
pass an inspection or receive authorization
pronounce not guilty of criminal charges
settle, as of a debt
make clear, bright, light, or translucent
rid of instructions or data
remove (people) from a building
remove the occupants of
free (the throat) by making a rasping sound
Adjective:

clear to the mind
free from confusion or doubt
affording free passage or view
free from cloudiness; allowing light to pass through
free from contact or proximity or connection
characterized by freedom from troubling thoughts (especially guilt)
(of sound or color) free from anything that dulls or dims
(especially of a title) free from any encumberance or limitation that presents a question of fact or law
clear and distinct to the senses; easily perceptible
accurately stated or described
free from clouds or mist or haze
free of restrictions or qualifications
free from flaw or blemish or impurity
clear of charges or deductions
easily deciphered
freed from any question of guilt
characterized by ease and quickness in perceiving
of complexion; without such blemishes as e.g. acne
Adverb:

completely
in an easily perceptible manner

Word Origin

clear: clear: [13] Clear comes via Old French cler from Latin clārus (source also of English claret and clarion [14]). It has been suggested that clārus is related to calāre ‘call out’ (whence English council). Latin derivatives that have come down to English are clārificāre, from which English gets clarify [14], and clāritās, whence English clarity [16]. The Middle English spelling of the adjective is preserved in clerestory ‘upper storey of a church’ [15] (so named from its being ‘bright’ or ‘lighted’ with numerous windows).=> claim, claret, clarion, clarity, clerestory, declare, low

clear (adj.): late 13c., "bright," from Old French cler "clear" (of sight and hearing), "light, bright, shining; sparse" (12c., Modern French clair), from Latin clarus "clear, loud," of sounds; figuratively "manifest, plain, evident," in transferred use, of sights, "bright, distinct;" also "illustrious, famous, glorious" (source of Italian chiaro, Spanish claro), from PIE *kle-ro-, from root *kele- (2) "to shout" (see claim (v.)). The sense evolution involves an identification of the spreading of sound and the spreading of light (compare English loud, used of colors; German hell "clear, bright, shining," of pitch, "distinct, ringing, high"). Of complexion, from c. 1300; of the weather, from late 14c.; of meanings or explanations, "manifest to the mind, comprehensible," c. 1300. (An Old English word for this was sweotol "distinct, clear, evident.") Sense of "free from encumbrance," apparently nautical, developed c. 1500. Phrase in the clear attested from 1715. Clear-sighted is from 1580s (clear-eyed is from 1529s); clear-headed is from 1709.

clear (v.): late 14c., "to fill with light," from clear (adj.). Of weather, from late 14c. Meaning "make clear in the mind" is mid-15c., as is sense of "to remove what clouds." Meaning "to prove innocent" is from late 15c. Meaning "get rid of" is from 1530s. Meaning "to free from entanglement" is from 1590s; that of "pass without entanglement" is from 1630s. Meaning "to leap clear over" is first attested 1791. Meaning "get approval for" (a proposal, etc.) is from 1944; meaning "establish as suitable for national security work" is from 1948. Related: Cleared; clearing. To clear (one's) throat is from 1881; earlier clear (one's) voice (1701). To clear out "depart, leave" (1825), perhaps is from the notion of ships satisfying customs, harbor regulations, etc., then setting sail. To clear up is from 1620s, of weather; 1690s as "make clear to the mind." Clear the decks is what is done on a ship before it moves.