Clear vs. Opaque: Know the Difference
By Shumaila Saeed || Updated on December 25, 2023
Clear refers to materials or substances that allow light to pass through without obstruction, while opaque means not transmitting light.
Key Differences
Clear materials allow light to pass through, enabling visibility through them. Opaque materials, conversely, do not permit light to pass, blocking visibility.
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Dec 07, 2023
In a clear substance, objects on the other side are visible, as in a clear glass window. An opaque substance, like a wooden door, prevents seeing through it.
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Dec 07, 2023
Clarity is often associated with transparency and translucency, where light transmission is unimpeded. Opaqueness indicates a complete or near-total blockage of light.
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Dec 07, 2023
The concept of clear is used metaphorically to describe lucidity in communication or thought, whereas opaque can metaphorically describe something that is difficult to understand or interpret.
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Dec 07, 2023
Clear substances are essential in optics, like lenses and windows, for clear vision. Opaque materials are used where light blockage is necessary, like in walls and certain coverings.
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Dec 07, 2023
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Comparison Chart
Visibility
Objects are visible through it
Objects are not visible through it
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Metaphorical Use
Describes clarity and lucidity
Describes confusion or complexity
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Clear and Opaque Definitions
Clear
Easily seen through.
The clear glass allowed a perfect view of the garden.
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Nov 23, 2023
Opaque
Dense, not allowing light to pass through.
The wall was painted with an opaque color.
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Nov 23, 2023
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Opaque
Impenetrable by a form of radiant energy other than visible light
A chemical solution opaque to x-rays.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Free from flaw, blemish, or impurity
A clear, perfect diamond.
A clear record with the police.
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Oct 19, 2023
Opaque
So obscure as to be unintelligible
"opaque, elusive, minimal meanings" (John Simon).
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Free from impediment, obstruction, or hindrance; open
A clear view.
A clear path to victory.
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Oct 19, 2023
Opaque
Something that is opaque, especially an opaque pigment used to darken parts of a photographic print or negative.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Easily perceptible to the eye or ear; distinct
The clear call of a songbird.
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Oct 19, 2023
Opaque
Allowing little light to pass through, not translucent or transparent.
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Opaque
(figuratively) Unclear, unintelligible, hard to get or explain the meaning of.
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Oct 19, 2023
Opaque
(computing) Describes a type for which higher-level callers have no knowledge of data values or their representations; all operations are carried out by the type's defined abstract operators.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Having been freed from contact, proximity, or connection
At last we were clear of the danger. The ship was clear of the reef.
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Oct 19, 2023
Opaque
Impervious to the rays of light; not transparent; as, an opaque substance.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
(Informal) All the way; completely
Slept clear through the night.
Read the book clear to the end.
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Oct 19, 2023
Opaque
Not clear; not transmitting or reflecting light or radiant energy;
Opaque windows of the jail
Opaque to X-rays
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To rid of impurities, blemishes, muddiness, or foreign matter
The new filter cleared the water.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To free from confusion, doubt, or ambiguity; make plain or intelligible
Cleared up the question of responsibility.
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Oct 19, 2023
Opaque
Not transmitting light; impenetrable to sight.
The opaque curtain blocked all sunlight.
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Nov 23, 2023
Clear
To rid of objects or obstructions
Clear the table.
Clear the road of debris.
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Oct 19, 2023
Opaque
Blocking information or clarity.
The report provided an opaque overview of the finances.
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Nov 23, 2023
Clear
To make (a way or clearing) by removing obstructions
Clear a path through the jungle.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To remove (objects or obstructions)
Clear the dishes.
Clear snow from the road.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To move or shoot (a ball or puck) away from the goal or out of the defensive zone.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To clear a ball or puck out of (the defensive zone), as in lacrosse or hockey.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To rid (a memory location or buffer, for example) of instructions or data.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To free from a legal charge or imputation of guilt; acquit
Cleared the suspect of the murder charge.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To pass (a bill of exchange, such as a check) through a clearing-house.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To free (a ship or cargo) from legal detention at a harbor by fulfilling customs and harbor requirements.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To exchange checks and bills or settle accounts through a clearing-house.
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Clear
To pass through the banking system and be debited and credited to the relevant accounts
The check cleared.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To comply with customs and harbor requirements in discharging a cargo or in leaving or entering a port.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Bright; luminous; not dark or obscured.
The windshield was clear and clean.
Congress passed the President’s Clear Skies legislation.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Free of obstacles.
The driver had mistakenly thought the intersection was clear.
The coast is clear.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
(meteorology) Of the sky, such that less than one eighth of its area is obscured by clouds.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Free of ambiguity or doubt.
He gave clear instructions not to bother him at work.
Do I make myself clear? Crystal clear.
I'm still not quite clear on what some of these words mean.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Possessing little or no perceptible stimulus.
Clear of texture; clear of odor
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
(Scientology) Free from the influence of engrams; see Clear (Scientology).
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Able to perceive clearly; keen; acute; penetrating; discriminating.
A clear intellect; a clear head
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Without defects or blemishes, such as freckles or knots.
A clear complexion; clear lumber
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
All the way; entirely.
I threw it clear across the river to the other side.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Not near something or touching it.
Stand clear of the rails, a train is coming.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
(transitive) To remove obstructions, impediments or other unwanted items from.
Police took two hours to clear the road.
If you clear the table, I'll wash up.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
(transitive) To remove (items or material) so as to leave something unobstructed or open.
Please clear all this stuff off the table.
The loggers came and cleared the trees.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
(intransitive) To become free from obstruction or obscurement; to become transparent.
When the road cleared we continued our journey.
After a heavy rain, the sky cleared nicely for the evening.
Shake the test tube well, and the liquid should slowly clear.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
(transitive) To eliminate ambiguity or doubt from (a matter); to clarify or resolve; to clear up.
We need to clear this issue once and for all.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
(transitive) To remove from suspicion, especially of having committed a crime.
The court cleared the man of murder.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
(transitive) To pass without interference; to miss.
The door just barely clears the table as it closes.
The leaping horse easily cleared the hurdles.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To exceed a stated mark.
She was the first female high jumper to clear two metres.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To finish or complete (a stage, challenge, or game).
I cleared the first level in 36 seconds.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
(intransitive) Of a check or financial transaction, to go through as payment; to be processed so that the money is transferred.
The check might not clear for a couple of days.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To earn a profit of; to net.
He's been clearing seven thousand a week.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
(transitive) To approve or authorise for a particular purpose or action; to give clearance to.
Air traffic control cleared the plane to land.
The marketing department has cleared the press release for publication.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
(transitive) To obtain approval or authorisation in respect of.
I've cleared the press release with the marketing department, so go ahead and publish it.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
(intransitive) To obtain a clearance.
The steamer cleared for Liverpool today.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
(transitive) To obtain permission to use (a sample of copyrighted audio) in another track.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To disengage oneself from incumbrances, distress, or entanglements; to become free.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To hit, kick, head, punch etc. (a ball, puck) away in order to defend one's goal.
The goalkeeper rushed forward to clear the ball.
A low cross came in, and Smith cleared.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To reset or unset; to return to an empty state or to zero.
To clear an array;
To clear a single bit (binary digit) in a value
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To style (an element within a document) so that it is not permitted to float at a given position.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
(carpentry) Full extent; distance between extreme limits; especially; the distance between the nearest surfaces of two bodies, or the space between walls.
A room ten feet square in the clear
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
(video games) The completion of a stage or challenge, or of the whole game.
It took me weeks to achieve a one-credit clear (1CC).
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Free from opaqueness; transparent; bright; light; luminous; unclouded.
The stream is so transparent, pure, and clear.
Fair as the moon, clear as the sun.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Free from ambiguity or indistinctness; lucid; perspicuous; plain; evident; manifest; indubitable.
One truth is clear; whatever is, is right.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Able to perceive clearly; keen; acute; penetrating; discriminating; as, a clear intellect; a clear head.
Mother of science! now I feel thy powerWithin me clear, not only to discernThings in their causes, but to trace the waysOf highest agents.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Not clouded with passion; serene; cheerful.
With a countenance as clearAs friendship wears at feasts.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Easily or distinctly heard; audible; canorous.
Hark! the numbers soft and clearGently steal upon the ear.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Without defect or blemish, such as freckles or knots; as, a clear complexion; clear lumber.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Free from guilt or stain; unblemished.
Statesman, yet friend to truth! in soul sincere,In action faithful, and in honor clear.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Without diminution; in full; net; as, clear profit.
I often wished that I had clear,For life, six hundred pounds a-year.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Free from impediment or obstruction; unobstructed; as, a clear view; to keep clear of debt.
My companion . . . left the way clear for him.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Free from embarrassment; detention, etc.
The cruel corporal whispered in my ear,Five pounds, if rightly tipped, would set me clear.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Full extent; distance between extreme limits; especially; the distance between the nearest surfaces of two bodies, or the space between walls; as, a room ten feet square in the clear.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
In a clear manner; plainly.
Now clear I understandWhat oft . . . thoughts have searched in vain.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Without limitation; wholly; quite; entirely; as, to cut a piece clear off.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To render bright, transparent, or undimmed; to free from clouds.
He sweeps the skies and clears the cloudy north.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To free from obscurity or ambiguity; to relive of perplexity; to make perspicuous.
Many knotty points there areWhich all discuss, but few can clear.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To render more quick or acute, as the understanding; to make perspicacious.
Our common prints would clear up their understandings.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To free from impediment or incumbrance, from defilement, or from anything injurious, useless, or offensive; as, to clear land of trees or brushwood, or from stones; to clear the sight or the voice; to clear one's self from debt; - often used with of, off, away, or out.
Clear your mind of cant.
A statue lies hid in a block of marble; and the art of the statuary only clears away the superfluous matter.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To free from the imputation of guilt; to justify, vindicate, or acquit; - often used with from before the thing imputed.
I . . . am sure he will clear me from partiality.
How! wouldst thou clear rebellion?
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To leap or pass by, or over, without touching or failure; as, to clear a hedge; to clear a reef.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To gain without deduction; to net.
The profit which she cleared on the cargo.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To become free from clouds or fog; to become fair; - of the weather; - often followed by up, off, or away.
So foul a sky clears not without a storm.
Advise him to stay till the weather clears up.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To become free from turbidity; - of solutions or suspensions of liquids; as, the salt has not completely dissolved until the suspension clears up; when refrigerated, the juice may become cloudy, but when warmed to room temperature, it clears up again.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To disengage one's self from incumbrances, distress, or entanglements; to become free.
He that clears at once will relapse; for finding himself out of straits, he will revert to his customs; but he that cleareth by degrees induceth a habit of frugality.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
To make exchanges of checks and bills, and settle balances, as is done in a clearing house.
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
The state of being free of suspicion;
Investigation showed that he was in the clear
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
A clear or unobstructed space or expanse of land or water;
Finally broke out of the forest into the open
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Make a way or path by removing objects;
Clear a path through the dense forest
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Grant authorization or clearance for;
Clear the manuscript for publication
The rock star never authorized this slanderous biography
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Be debited and credited to the proper bank accounts;
The check will clear within 2 business days
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Pass by, over, or under without making contact;
The balloon cleared the tree tops
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Make free from confusion or ambiguity; make clear;
Could you clarify these remarks?
Clear up the question of who is at fault
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Free from payment of customs duties, as of a shipment;
Clear the ship and let it dock
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Clear from impurities, blemishes, pollution, etc.;
Clear the water before it can be drunk
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Earn on some commercial or business transaction; earn as salary or wages;
How much do you make a month in your new job?
She earns a lot in her new job
This merger brought in lots of money
He clears $5,000 each month
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Pronounce not guilty of criminal charges;
The suspect was cleared of the murder charges
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Make clear, bright, light, or translucent;
The water had to be cleared through filtering
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Remove (people) from a building;
Clear the patrons from the theater after the bomb threat
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Clear to the mind;
A clear and present danger
A clear explanation
A clear case of murder
A clear indication that she was angry
Gave us a clear idea of human nature
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Free from confusion or doubt;
A complex problem requiring a clear head
Not clear about what is expected of us
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Free from cloudiness; allowing light to pass through;
Clear water
Clear plastic bags
Clear glass
The air is clear and clean
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Free from contact or proximity or connection;
We were clear of the danger
The ship was clear of the reef
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Characterized by freedom from troubling thoughts (especially guilt);
A clear conscience
Regarded her questioner with clear untroubled eyes
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
(of sound or color) free from anything that dulls or dims;
Efforts to obtain a clean bass in orchestral recordings
Clear laughter like a waterfall
Clear reds and blues
A light lilting voice like a silver bell
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
(especially of a title) free from any encumberance or limitation that presents a question of fact or law;
I have clear title to this property
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Clear and distinct to the senses; easily perceptible;
As clear as a whistle
Clear footprints in the snow
The letter brought back a clear image of his grandfather
A spire clean-cut against the sky
A clear-cut pattern
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Free of restrictions or qualifications;
A clean bill of health
A clear winner
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Freed from any question of guilt;
Is absolved from all blame
Was now clear of the charge of cowardice
His official honor is vindicated
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Characterized by ease and quickness in perceiving;
Clear mind
A percipient author
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Of complexion; without such blemishes as e.g. acne;
The clear complexion of a healthy young woman
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
Completely;
Read the book clear to the end
Slept clear through the night
There were open fields clear to the horizon
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Oct 19, 2023
Clear
In an easily perceptible manner;
Could be seen clearly under the microscope
She cried loud and clear
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Oct 19, 2023
Repeatedly Asked Queries
What does clear mean in terms of material properties?
Clear materials allow light to pass through, making objects on the other side visible.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 07, 2023
What are some common examples of clear materials?
Glass, clear plastic, and certain types of crystal are common clear materials.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 07, 2023
Can clear be used to describe communication?
Yes, clear can describe communication that is easy to understand and unambiguous.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 07, 2023
What defines an opaque material?
Opaque materials do not let light pass through, preventing visibility of objects behind them.
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Dec 07, 2023
How is clear used in the context of instructions?
Clear instructions are those that are easy to follow and free from confusion.
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Dec 07, 2023
Can a material be both clear and opaque?
No, a material cannot be both clear and opaque simultaneously as these are opposing properties.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 07, 2023
Is opaque ever used in a metaphorical sense?
Yes, opaque can metaphorically describe something that is difficult to comprehend or interpret.
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Dec 07, 2023
What are typical opaque materials?
Wood, metal, and dense fabrics are examples of opaque materials.
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Dec 07, 2023
Can opaque refer to a style of writing?
Yes, opaque writing is that which is difficult to understand or lacks clarity.
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Dec 07, 2023
What role does clarity play in design?
Clarity in design ensures that the purpose and function are easily understood.
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Dec 07, 2023
How do you measure the clarity of a substance?
The clarity of a substance is measured by its ability to transmit light and display objects behind it.
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Dec 07, 2023
Is clarity important in photography?
Yes, clarity is crucial in photography for producing sharp and distinct images.
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Dec 07, 2023
Can water be considered clear?
Yes, water is often considered clear as it allows light to pass through.
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Dec 07, 2023
Can a clear substance become opaque?
Yes, under certain conditions like frosting or coating, clear substances can become opaque.
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Dec 07, 2023
What does an opaque finish mean in cosmetics?
In cosmetics, an opaque finish means a product that does not allow the skin or color beneath to show through.
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Dec 07, 2023
How does opacity affect room lighting?
Opacity in materials like curtains or paint can block light, affecting room lighting.
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Dec 07, 2023
Is glass always clear?
Not necessarily, glass can be treated or manufactured to be opaque or colored.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 07, 2023
Can opacity change over time?
Yes, some materials may change their opacity over time due to factors like exposure to sunlight or chemical reactions.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 07, 2023
Are there opaque liquids?
Some liquids can be opaque if they do not allow light to pass through clearly.
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Dec 07, 2023
Is opacity a desirable trait in certain products?
Yes, opacity is desirable in products like clothing or wall paint for privacy or aesthetic purposes.
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Dec 07, 2023
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About Author
Written by
Shumaila SaeedShumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.
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