1
as in filtering
to remove usually visible impurities from
clarify the melted butter by skimming off the milky bits
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in explaining
to make plain or understandable
it would help if you could clarify your position for us
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in illuminating
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of clarifying
Max Gao, Variety, 29 Aug. 2025
Working at the Taller de Gráfica Popular allowed for a clarifying moment of vision, one that drove her work—politically and artistically—for the rest of her life.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
But this was a clarifying moment for me, as the photo’s release validated other information my source had been sharing in recent weeks.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 4 Sep. 2024
Tuesday against Brooklyn's collection of wings will provide a more clarifying test.
—Michael Shapiro, Chron, 6 Mar. 2023
Hank Willis Thomas has meditated on the commercialization of Black stereotypes, in ways that are generally more clarifying than Colescott’s histrionic approach.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 18 Aug. 2022
Biden administration officials say that the Russian invasion has been a clarifying moment for some of the bigger powers in Asia as financial sanctions and export bans have been put in place to check Russia.
—Aamer Madhani and Josh Boak, Chicago Tribune, 19 May 2022
Kyle's clarifying questions ultimately yield a few non-clarifying answers.
—Jodi Walker, EW.com, 16 Sep. 2021
The most clarifying political moment of the era came with the 1912 presidential election, when corporate concentration was explicitly on the ballot.
—Zephyr Teachout, Foreign Affairs, 8 Dec. 2020
Dr. Diane Hamilton, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
The last two years have been clarifying, and not only in unpleasant ways.
—Jack Sheehan
september 4, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
In a clarifying public statement, Marr reframed the narrative his former bandmate introduced about what actually happened.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 4 Sep. 2025
The photos were not taken at an OB/GYN clinic, Sutter Health said, clarifying they were taken at Sansum’s urgent care clinic in Santa Barbara.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025
That means clarifying that Will does intend to keep working at Johnny 66, no matter how much Jenna is pushing him away.
—Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2025
In addition to containing gentle AHAs mandelic and lactic acids, the formula features pore-clarifying salicylic acid as well as mangosteen peel extract.
—Emily Orofino, Vogue, 25 Aug. 2025
For example, while experts use chatbots as collaboration tools—riffing on ideas, clarifying intuitions—novices often treat them mistakenly as automation tools, oracles that speak from a bottomless well of knowledge.
—David Autor, The Atlantic, 24 Aug. 2025
This now four-game winless run has been clarifying for the progress of the Maresca project.
—Liam Twomey, The Athletic, 5 Jan. 2025
Verb
And that was a clarifying moment for me in my understanding of their relationship.
—Max Gao, Variety, 29 Aug. 2025
Working at the Taller de Gráfica Popular allowed for a clarifying moment of vision, one that drove her work—politically and artistically—for the rest of her life.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
But this was a clarifying moment for me, as the photo’s release validated other information my source had been sharing in recent weeks.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 4 Sep. 2024
Tuesday against Brooklyn's collection of wings will provide a more clarifying test.
—Michael Shapiro, Chron, 6 Mar. 2023
Hank Willis Thomas has meditated on the commercialization of Black stereotypes, in ways that are generally more clarifying than Colescott’s histrionic approach.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 18 Aug. 2022
Biden administration officials say that the Russian invasion has been a clarifying moment for some of the bigger powers in Asia as financial sanctions and export bans have been put in place to check Russia.
—Aamer Madhani and Josh Boak, Chicago Tribune, 19 May 2022
Kyle's clarifying questions ultimately yield a few non-clarifying answers.
—Jodi Walker, EW.com, 16 Sep. 2021
The most clarifying political moment of the era came with the 1912 presidential election, when corporate concentration was explicitly on the ballot.
—Zephyr Teachout, Foreign Affairs, 8 Dec. 2020
Adjective
Building in a few minutes at the end of meetings for clarifying questions shows that understanding is a priority.
—Dr. Diane Hamilton, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
The last two years have been clarifying, and not only in unpleasant ways.
—Jack Sheehan
september 4, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
In a clarifying public statement, Marr reframed the narrative his former bandmate introduced about what actually happened.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 4 Sep. 2025
The photos were not taken at an OB/GYN clinic, Sutter Health said, clarifying they were taken at Sansum’s urgent care clinic in Santa Barbara.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025
That means clarifying that Will does intend to keep working at Johnny 66, no matter how much Jenna is pushing him away.
—Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2025
In addition to containing gentle AHAs mandelic and lactic acids, the formula features pore-clarifying salicylic acid as well as mangosteen peel extract.
—Emily Orofino, Vogue, 25 Aug. 2025
For example, while experts use chatbots as collaboration tools—riffing on ideas, clarifying intuitions—novices often treat them mistakenly as automation tools, oracles that speak from a bottomless well of knowledge.
—David Autor, The Atlantic, 24 Aug. 2025
This now four-game winless run has been clarifying for the progress of the Maresca project.
—Liam Twomey, The Athletic, 5 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clarifying
Verb
-
Key Takeaways IgA nephropathy is a progressive disease where immune proteins damage the kidneys' filtering units.—
Patty Weasler,
Verywell Health,
4 Sep. 2025
-
The Amiron 200 has two microphones for clear voice pickup and call quality, consistently filtering out distracting ambient noises using ENC.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The film opens just as its predecessor ended, with a handy recap explaining how Ne Zha and his angelic counterpart, Ao Bing, ended up in need of bodily reincarnation.—
Derek Robertson,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Amorim has been clearer and more consistent in explaining his tactical ideas and vision for the future.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Again, bold and daring and wild changes, sure, but also imaginative and illuminating.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
8 Sep. 2025
-
The most illuminating parts of the film are those that speak to Candy’s interpersonal relationships and offscreen challenges.—
Hershal Pandya,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Future research will focus on refining the material design and reducing energy losses even further.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Enriched with a moisturizing trio — hyaluronic acid, rose fruit, and damask rose extract — the formula soothes and nourishes while refining the appearance of skin texture.—
Esme Benjamin,
PEOPLE,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
While the details of the case are particular to one individual, experts say the outcome is far too common, illustrating the need for greater vigilance of, and advocacy around, a threat that kills a person every six minutes, according to the National Blood Clot Alliance.—
Paul Sisson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Sep. 2025
-
That's why, for example, the US government has funded a series of Landsat satellites since 1972 to create an uninterrupted data catalog illustrating changes in global land use.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Pallarés, though, thought this traditional idea lacked a bit of explanatory power.—
Jacek Krywko,
ArsTechnica,
22 Aug. 2025
-
The curved, accessible walkways are clearly signed and more than one explanatory exhibit demonstrates the superiority of planting indigenous or highly adaptive plants.—
Michael Barnes,
Austin American Statesman,
30 July 2025
Verb
-
Crucially, there are real-world exploits like University of California, San Diego’s (UCSD) Imprompter, which had nearly an 80% success rate in extracting personal data via obfuscated prompts.—
Camellia Chan,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
So Cali reached over, extracting it, before downing the rest.—
Bryan Washington,
New Yorker,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Soon, Geoffrey Hinton and his graduate students began demonstrating that neural networks, trained on large datasets and run on GPUs, could do things—like classify images into a thousand different categories—that would have been impossible in the late 1980s.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Fahey Rush was often responsible for demonstrating how the company’s TV audiences — in the linear era, some of the industry’s youngest — behaved and consumed media and advertising.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clarifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clarifying. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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