unclear

adjective

un·​clear ˌən-ˈklir 

: not clear: such as

a

: difficult to understand

an unclear explanation

unclear instructions

an unclear reference

b

: confused or uncertain about something

—often used with about

was a little unclear about how to proceed

unclearly adverb

speaking unclearly

an unclearly remembered incident

Synonyms

• fuzzy
• indefinite
• inexplicit
• muzzy
• vague

Examples of unclear in a Sentence

their suggestion for correcting the problem is a bit unclear

obtained at best an unclear glimpse of the rarely seen bird from across the road

Recent Examples on the Web

With five years to go, the industry’s likelihood to reach this across the board remains unclear. —Amy Nguyen, Forbes.com, 24 Apr. 2025

Other than the former Miami Hurricanes star going No. 1 to the Titans, the way the rest of the NFL Draft could shake out is unclear. —Fox News Staff, FOXNews.com, 24 Apr. 2025

The magnitude of the pause was unclear, the analysts said, but the comments raised fears that Amazon was doing something similar to Microsoft’s recent move to pull back on some early stage projects. —Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 24 Apr. 2025

Why the contract was posted and then canceled is unclear. —Jeff Ernsthausen, ProPublica, 24 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing unclear

• unclear on the concept of

Rhymes for unclear

• adhere
• ameer
• amir
• appear
• arrear
• astir
• austere
• career
• cashier
• cohere
• compere
• emir