clarification
Americannoun
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the act or an instance of making an idea or statement clear.
You may use a pencil to circle words, passages, or phrases that you don't understand or that need clarification.
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the removal of solid matter from a liquid so that it is clear or translucent.
The clarification of butter involves first melting it and then getting rid of all milk solids, leaving behind pure saturated fat.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of clarification
First recorded in 1570–80, for an earlier sense; from Latin clārificātiōn-, stem of clārificātiō “a making clear,” from clārificāre “to make clear”; see clarify ( def. ), -fication ( def. )
Explanation
Clarification is what you hope to achieve when you make an idea or concept less confusing and easier to understand. This often happens after a detailed or very clear explanation. Loudspeaker announcements in bus terminals and train stations are always so muffled and difficult to understand that it would be nice if you could at least find someone afterward who could provide clarification. In the realm of science, clarification is also the act of removing solid particles from a liquid so that it is more pure and, in some cases, so that it is transparent.
Vocabulary lists containing clarification
The Poet X
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The Things They Carried
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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They would sit through hours of proceedings until a clerk directed them to exit the courtroom, with little to no clarification on what happened in their case.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 1, 2026
"To date, no denial, clarification or response has been issued," he said.
From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026
If not, what does the clause mean, and why did U.S. negotiators agree to it without explicit clarification?
From Slate • Jun. 17, 2026
Polymarket data show that 1,838 accounts bet a collective $3.8 million that Strategy would sell bitcoin by May 31 before the clarification wiped them out.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 13, 2026
It also called for punishment of the bus driver and insisted on clarification of the long-standing city bus rule—constantly ignored by drivers—that said no rider had to give up a seat unless another was available.
From "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice" by Phillip Hoose
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
