clarity
Americannoun
-
clarities
plural
-
clearness or lucidity as to perception or understanding; freedom from indistinctness or ambiguity.
- Synonyms:
- simplicity, exactness, intelligibility
-
the state or quality of being clear or transparent to the eye; pellucidity.
the clarity of pure water.
noun
-
clearness, as of expression
-
clearness, as of water
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of clarity
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English cler(e)te, clar(i)te, from Old French clarte, from Latin clāritāt-, stem of clāritās, equivalent to clear + -ity
Explanation
Clarity means clearness. Clean water running down a mountain has clarity. So does a lovely singing voice: it's clear and pure. If you bring clarity to a situation, you help people see what really happened by clearing up misunderstandings or giving explanations. Sometimes people talk about having moments of clarity when suddenly everything about a particular situation or even about life itself comes into focus. People also talk about good writing having clarity when it is precise, clean, and easy to understand.
Vocabulary lists containing clarity
Starting Your New Life: Inspiring Words from Commencement Speeches
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Keystone Exams: English Composition Glossary
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Journalism
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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.
See Examples For:
In a largely friendly 2016 profile in the New Yorker, Tad Friend wrote that “Altman’s great strengths are clarity of thought and an intuitive grasp of complex systems.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
The first-of-its-kind research, published in the journal Nutrition Research, could also help consumers better understand the distinction between different types of trans fats and provide greater clarity around labeling policies that may contribute to confusion.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
Mendoza said that an increase in school police is the only action that she feels could help her son and his peers — and provide more clarity to families when incidents occur.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
She said the debt markets are "looking for a signal that there is a medium-term fiscal consolidation plan" and "clarity that over time the debt would shrink".
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
He was stunned by the memories brought to him with the perfume, not because of their clarity, but because they gathered together the whole long span of years and were complete.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
For him, the great pursuit was the “deep blue clarities of a delighting mind”.
From Economist ● Aug. 13, 2015
The citadels bristle with intolerant clarities of doctrine -- and with high-caliber weapons.
From Time Magazine Archive
Poetry: Wallace Stevens for his strange visual clarities, Robert Frost for his sly moral clarities, Walt Whitman for his spaciousness and energy.
From Time Magazine Archive
Africa has its blinding clarities and its shadows.
From Time Magazine Archive
The clarities proclaim something primal, the first days of life.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
