unclear
Britishadjective
Other Word Forms
Explanation
When something's unclear it's hard to see or understand. If the directions for assembling your new desk are unclear, you might end up with two upside-down drawers and a handful of unused nuts and bolts. If you don't explain something accurately, it will be unclear to the person who's trying to understand. And when a photograph is badly out of focus, it's also unclear — you can't quite see the details. You can also use this adjective for the feeling that results in these situations: "I'm unclear about exactly who's in this photo and why you wanted me to see it."
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.
Appeared in the April 10, 2026, print edition as 'Netanyahu Keeps on Fighting, But the Payoff Remains Unclear'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
Unclear why they were there, he decided to record a post for Instagram.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2025
Unclear, but it turns out it was something else that didn’t remain a secret too long, after Turner put some blood in the water for national security reporters.
From Slate • Feb. 17, 2024
Unclear, for example, is whether Rite Aid can repay more than $3 billion in debt — or whether reorganization becomes liquidation and a fire sale of Rite Aid’s remaining retail assets.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 15, 2023
Unclear or missing punctuation marks were corrected by reference to the 1854 edition of this work.
From Christology of the Old Testament: And a Commentary on the Messianic Predictions, Vol. 1 by Hengstenberg, Ernst Wilhelm
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.
