crystal-clear
Origin of crystal-clear
Words nearby crystal-clear
MORE ABOUT CRYSTAL CLEAR
What does crystal-clear mean?
Crystal-clear literally means completely clearâoften meaning you can see right through it.
Crystal is a type of mineral or glass thatâs clearâit resembles ice. When crystal-clear is used in this way, it often describes things like perfectly clear water.
But it can also describe things that have perfect clarityâa TV might be said to have a crystal-clear picture, for example. Even things that arenât visual might be said to be crystal-clear in this way, as in These headphones provide crystal-clear sound.
Crystal-clear can also be used figuratively to mean extremely easy to understandâmeaning thereâs nothing at all confusing about it. This sense of the word is often used to describe things like instructions or a piece of writing.
Crystal-clear can be used with or without a hyphen. Itâs often used with a hyphen when it comes before the thing it describes, as in crystal-clear glass, and without a hyphen when it follows the thing it describes, as in the glass was crystal clear.Â
The phrase clear as crystal means the same thing as both senses of crystal-clear. A close synonym for both senses of the word is transparent.
Example: These crystal-clear cleaning instructions will give you crystal-clear windows in no time!
Where does crystal-clear come from?
The first records of the term crystal-clear come from around the 1500s. The word crystal ultimately derives from the Greek krĂ˝stallos, meaning âiceâ or referring to the clear kind of rock. This word comes from the Greek verb krystaĂnein, meaning âto freeze.â The word clear has been used since the 1200s, and itâs been used to mean âeasy to understandâ for just about as long as itâs been used to mean âtransparent.â
When a body of water is described as crystal-clear, it means you can see right to the bottom because itâs completely transparentâit has no cloudiness. Similarly, crystal-clear instructions are easily understandable because theyâre transparentâthey have nothing in them that could cause confusion. Crystal-clear essentially means âas clear as possible.â Thatâs what you mean when you use it to answer when someone asks, âHave I made myself clear?â
The opposite is opaque, literally meaning ânot transparent.â This can be used to describe something that you canât see through or that you canât easily understand because itâs confusing.
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What are some other forms related to crystal-clear?
- crystal clear (without a hyphen)
What are some synonyms for crystal-clear?
What are some words that share a root or word element with crystal-clear?Â
What are some words that often get used in discussing crystal-clear?
How is crystal-clear used in real life?
Crystal-clear is commonly used both literally and figuratively.
Itâs not every day a #dugong sidles up to say gâday! đ
IG/bluemediaexmouth was lucky enough to swim beside two of these curious creatures in the crystal clear waters of #NingalooReef in @WestAustralia's #AustraliaCoralCoast.#seeaustralia #thisisWA #wanderoutyonder pic.twitter.com/76HGsmCLEm
— Australia (@Australia) July 4, 2020
Want to enjoy your favorite shows in utmost clarity? Get Kodak High Definition LED Smart TV & experience crystal-clear picture quality. pic.twitter.com/UpjGw9WkMX
— KODAK TV India (@kodaktvindia) November 29, 2016
Why is the UK getting updates on measures to be taken to contain a global pandemic through journalists who cite anonymous âsources?â
The Government should be giving regular, DAILY updates to the public with crystal clear instructions. #COVIDăź19 #coronaUK
— Dr Lauren Gavaghan (@DancingTheMind) March 15, 2020
Try using crystal-clear!
Is crystal-clear used correctly in the following sentence?
The crystal-clear homework instructions were extremely convoluted and everyone was very confused by them.