as in smart
having or showing a practical cleverness or judgment
shows a clear-eyed understanding of what it takes to be successful in business
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Recent Examples of clear-eyed
Our support for this project comes after careful observation, thoughtful dialogue, and a clear-eyed assessment of long-term community value.
—
Troy McLellan, Sun Sentinel, 24 Feb. 2026
Snehal Desai’s direction is politically clear-eyed and scrupulous.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2026
Often regarded as Egypt’s answer to Alfred Hitchcock, the great director Kamal al Sheikh was known for his noir-inflected, clear-eyed explorations of class.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 16 Feb. 2026
Sanofi has been clear-eyed about the need to offset the patent expiry of its blockbuster asthma drug Dupixent, which currently accounts for more than a third of sales and will lose key patents by early 2030s.
—Elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for clear-eyed
Troy McLellan, Sun Sentinel, 24 Feb. 2026
Snehal Desai’s direction is politically clear-eyed and scrupulous.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2026
Often regarded as Egypt’s answer to Alfred Hitchcock, the great director Kamal al Sheikh was known for his noir-inflected, clear-eyed explorations of class.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 16 Feb. 2026
Sanofi has been clear-eyed about the need to offset the patent expiry of its blockbuster asthma drug Dupixent, which currently accounts for more than a third of sales and will lose key patents by early 2030s.
—Elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for clear-eyed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clear-eyed
Adjective
-
And Tucker is really not smart enough to understand that.—
Will Steakin,
ABC News,
7 Mar. 2026
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The crowd is a smart mix of stylists, hoteliers, shop owners, restaurateurs, students, tastemakers, and creative directors, alongside the usual magazine editors, museum curators, artists, and gallerists.—
Katherine McGrath,
Vogue,
7 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Once a spindly but speedy left midfielder, the 25-year-old Ahmed has developed into a tactically astute and fearless attacking player who has adapted to the physical English Championship with Norwich City far quicker than expected.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
11 Mar. 2026
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Not all the time, not in a deeply debilitating way, but enough that his ongoing battle with right-knee tendinitis has become part of his tennis-playing identity — as much as his astute court acumen, steadfast competitiveness and Southern California charisma.—
Douglas Robson,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
For the past 35 years, Colleen Murphy has been in the front ranks of protecting our right to know, many of those years as the shrewd general of the ragtag good government army.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
7 Mar. 2026
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The dispensing of moral instruction is an often tiresome staple of child-friendly animation, but the lessons that Mabel must learn—to be less impulsive, less strident, and more willing to see the good in others—also turn out to be shrewd organizational and negotiating tactics.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
His arrest in March 2025 triggered a sharp selloff, which prompted Turkish authorities to raise interest rates and burn through billions of dollars in foreign currency reserves to stabilize the lira.—
Beril Akman,
Bloomberg,
9 Mar. 2026
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Jared Wright skated it down and turned back a slick pass for Laughton, whose whirling, sharp-angle bid beat Dobeš improbably to the far side.—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
8 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clear-eyed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clear-eyed. Accessed 15 Mar. 2026.
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