How does the adjective clear contrast with its synonyms?
Some common synonyms of clear are limpid, translucent, and transparent. While all these words mean "capable of being seen through," clear implies absence of cloudiness, haziness, or muddiness.
clear water
When could limpid be used to replace clear?
Although the words limpid and clear have much in common, limpid suggests the soft clearness of pure water.
her eyes were limpid pools of blue
When can translucent be used instead of clear?
The synonyms translucent and clear are sometimes interchangeable, but translucent implies the passage of light but not a clear view of what lies beyond.
translucent frosted glass
When would transparent be a good substitute for clear?
While the synonyms transparent and clear are close in meaning, transparent implies being so clear that objects can be seen distinctly.
a transparent sheet of film
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of clear
Adjective
Steer clear of politics and religion today.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
25 June 2026 Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson made that abundantly clear throughout the team’s offseason program, driving it home for players that a demanding camp in July and August will set up as a proving ground for roles to be carved out and for starting jobs to be won.—
Dan Wiederer,
New York Times,
24 June 2026
Verb
Don't wait too long to shop as these travel-ready deals are cleared for takeoff and won't be around forever.—
Caroline Hughes,
Travel + Leisure,
23 June 2026 Sources familiar with the situation, speaking anonymously as they were not cleared to speak publicly, said that if anyone had, deliberately or accidentally, incorrectly filled out one of the forms and that was brought to their attention, that could be considered grounds for revocation.—
Dan Sheldon,
New York Times,
23 June 2026
Adverb
In the past, doctors steered clear of transplanting organs for people with HIV.—
Noah Lyons,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 June 2026 From there, a weekly check-in and clear-out ensures nothing slips through the cracks.—
Jamie Cuccinelli,
Martha Stewart,
2 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for clear
But what feels most haunting about the arc of then to now, about Smith’s unfathomable issues and woes — yet obvious heart and particularly evident quest to find himself in recent years — is that his words then were spoken with a sense of arrival and past tense.
—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
20 June 2026
Look in the most obvious places first.
—
Nafeesah Allen,
Better Homes & Gardens,
20 June 2026
This contrasts sharply with Ben Bernanke's transparent regime, which established explicit inflation targets and regular communication to enhance predictability and anchor expectations.
—
Peter Cohan,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2026
Companies can prepare workers through reskilling, but also by being transparent in changes that may happen to labor as a result of automation, both for better and for worse.
Ship traffic first started to pick up over the weekend as shipping companies became more confident that talks between the US and Iran were progressing.
—
Vanessa Yurkevich,
CNN Money,
26 June 2026
Merlin, a 2-year-old duck, has taken the internet by storm, captivating fans with his tiny form-fitting Team Mexico jersey and confident waddle around his home of Mexico City.
Hathaway was recently spotted enjoying a vacation in sunny Saint-Tropez, her baby bump visible beneath an array of breezy maxi dresses and cover-ups, including the Anne dress from her stylist Erin Walsh’s collaboration with La Ligne.
—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
19 June 2026
Hidmi worries that the algae could come back, given the favorable conditions posed by the sunny, shallow pool.
However, a three-judge panel selected for a legal assessment of the findings found that the investigation was not conclusive enough.
—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 June 2026
Bartošák-Harlow said there's no conclusive evidence of who has and who has not paid a toll in the past, and there wasn't any sort of record, adding that companies should not be paying a toll for passage through an international waterway.
Not all pads are alike, but a footprint on the larger side involves five to ten acres of cleared, packed ground that serves as the hub for drilling equipment, which can include wellheads, pump jacks, tanks, wastewater storage pits, trailers, and flare stacks.
But the document also made clear, as every criminal case must, that the charges were accusations and that the defendant was presumed innocent until proven guilty.
—
Jon Duffy,
Mercury News,
25 June 2026
Nearly two-dozen suspects are now off the streets after being charged with dozens of shootings involving innocent bystanders.
Whatever political direction Democrats plan to take their party in two years at their National Convention to elect a presidential nominee, Denver offers a shining example of what a city looks like when governance goes right for many decades, led by heart and hard work.
—
The Denver Post Editorial Board,
Denver Post,
5 May 2026
So naturally in a state that treats basketball like a religion and the sport’s biggest stars like royalty, nobody casts a bigger shadow in this community now than the slender 6-foot-6, 196-pound, 19-year-old freshman who changed Final Four weekend with one brilliant shining moment Sunday afternoon.