1
Core meaning
The quality of being clear, intelligible, precise, or easy to perceive.
Example
The diagram adds clarity to the explanation.
clarity
/ˈklærəti/ · KLAIR-ih-teenoun
The quality of being clear, intelligible, precise, or easy to perceive.
Use clarity to express this relationship precisely: the quality of being clear, intelligible, precise, or easy to perceive.
What clarity Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Common noun frame
Use this noun in a complete noun phrase, adding the complement that identifies what it refers to when needed.
Example
She writes with precision and clarity.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact concept matters; a related term may describe its cause, evidence, or opposite instead.
Example
Greater clarity about the method would aid replication.
Use clarity Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
The diagram adds clarity to the explanation.
She writes with precision and clarity.
Greater clarity about the method would aid replication.
Precision Matters
Clarity overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
clarity
vs.Means the quality of being clear, intelligible, precise, or easy to perceive.
ambiguous
Means open to more than one reasonable interpretation.
clarity
vs.Means the quality of being clear, intelligible, precise, or easy to perceive.
obfuscate
Means make an idea, issue, or statement unclear, confusing, or difficult to understand.
clarity
vs.Means the quality of being clear, intelligible, precise, or easy to perceive.
arcane
Means known or understood by very few people because it is obscure, specialized, or mysterious.
clarity
vs.Means the quality of being clear, intelligible, precise, or easy to perceive.
elucidate
Means make an idea, process, or problem clear by explaining it carefully.
Test clarity in Context
The revision makes the writing clear and intelligible.
1
The editor reorganized the paragraph to improve its ___ and make the argument easier to follow.