Definition of: clear

(klir) adjective
1. Free from anything that dims or darkens; light.
2. Unclouded; distinct; intelligible.
3. Able to see, discern, or discriminate: a clear mind.
4. Free from obstruction or hindrance.
5. Free from encumbrance, responsibility, or guilt.
6. Free from adulteration, defect, or blemish.
7. Without deduction; net.
8. Undisturbed; serene.
9. Plain; evident.
10. Free from uncertainty.
11. Without trees or underbrush, as land.
12. Without knots or imperfections, as lumber or shingles.
—v.t.
1. To make clear; brighten.
2. To free from foreign matter, impurities, blemishes, or muddiness.
3. To remove, as obstructions, in making clear: to clear dishes from the table.
4. To disentangle: to clear a rope.
5. To free from imputations or accusations of guilt; acquit.
6. To free from doubt or ambiguity; make plain.
7. To free from debt by payment.
8. To pass or get by or over without touching: to clear a fence.
9. To obtain or give clearance, as for a ship or cargo.
10. To net or gain over and above expenses.
11. To pass through a clearing–house, as a check.
—v.i.
12. To become free from fog, cloud, or obscurity; grow bright; become fair.
13. To pass away, as mist or fog.
14. To settle accounts by exchange of bills and checks, as in a clearing–house.
—to clear for action To prepare for battle by clearing the decks.
—to clear in (or inward) Naut. To discharge cargo.
—to clear out
1. To leave port, as a ship.
2. To empty.
3. Colloq. To leave; depart.
—to clear the air To dispel emotional tensions or disagreements.
—to clear the land Naut. To get beyond danger of land and shoals into sea room.
—to clear up
1. To grow fair, as the weather.
2. To free from confusion or mystery.
3. To free from obligation.
—adverb Wholly; completely; quite; clearly; plainly.
—noun
1. Unbroken or unobstructed distance or space; clearance.
2. Inside measurements, from boundary to boundary.
—in the clear
1. In plain language; not written in code or cipher: said of military messages.
2. Innocent; not liable.
3. Free from limitations or obstructions. [<OF cler <L clarus clear, bright]
—clear′a·ble adjective
—clear′ly adverb Synonyms (adj.): apparent, diaphanous, distinct, evident, explicit, intelligible, limpid, lucid, manifest, obvious, pellucid, perspicuous, plain, straightforward, translucent, transparent, unadorned, unambiguous, unequivocal, unmistakable. A substance is said to be clear that offers no impediment to vision, is not dim, dark, or obscure; transparent, when objects are readily seen through it; we speak of a stream as clear when we think of the water itself, as transparent with reference to the ease with which we see the pebbles at the bottom. Clear is said of that which comes to the senses without dimness, dulness, obstruction, or obscurity; hence, the word is used for that which is free from any kind of obstruction; as, a clear field. Lucid and pellucid refer to a shining clearness, as of crystal. Translucent is less than transparent; a translucent body allows light to pass through, but may not permit forms and colors to be distinguished. Limpid refers to a liquid clearness, or that which suggests it; as, limpid streams. That which is distinct is well–defined, as in outline. That is plain which is level to the thought, so that one goes straight on without difficulty or hindrance; as, plain language; a plain statement. Perspicuous is often equivalent to plain, but plain never wholly loses the meaning of unadorned, so that we can say the style is perspicuous even if highly ornate, when we could not call it at once ornate and plain. Compare APPARENT, BLANK, EVIDENT, FINE, FREE, INNOCENT, MANIFEST, PLAIN, PURE, SURE, VIVID. Antonyms: ambiguous, cloudy, dim, dubious, foggy, indistinct, mysterious, obscure, opaque, turbid, unintelligible, vague.