unclear

EnglishEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Middle English unclere, equivalent to un- +‎ clear. Compare Saterland Frisian uunkloor (unclear), West Frisian ûnklear (inoperative, broken), Dutch onklaar (out of order, defective, broken), German unklar (unclear), Danish uklar (unclear), Swedish oklar (unclear).

PronunciationEdit

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ʌnˈklɪə(ɹ)/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ʌnˈklɪɚ/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)

AdjectiveEdit

unclear (comparative unclearer or more unclear, superlative unclearest or most unclear)

  1. Ambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation.
    The remark she made comparing her life with that of a fish was unclear.
  2. Not clearly or explicitly defined.
  3. Not easy to see or read; indecipherable or unreadable.
    From such a long distance away, the name on the signpost was unclear.
  4. Not having a clear idea; uncertain.
    I'm still unclear about what she meant by that remark.

Derived termsEdit

TranslationsEdit

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

VerbEdit

unclear (third-person singular simple present unclears, present participle unclearing, simple past and past participle uncleared)

  1. (transitive, rare) To undo the process of clearing.
    • 1998, Jeffrey J. Mayer, ACT! 4 for Windows for Dummies (page xx)
      Clearing, unclearing and deleting activities
    • 2012, Gerald DeJong, Investigating Explanation-Based Learning (page 108)
      [] finally [the block] would be cleared and remain that way until moved. Although this clearing and unclearing can occur repeatedly, the current BAGGER algorithm is unable to generalize number within unwindable subproofs.

AnagramsEdit