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unclear

adj, verb — 5 senses

unclear

adj

UK /ʌnˈklɪə(ɹ)/ · US /ʌnˈklɪɚ/

Etymology 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”).

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 terms
unclearly, unclear medicine, unclearness

unclear

verb

Etymology 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”).

1

Rare To undo the process of clearing.

  • Clearing, unclearing and deleting activities1998, Jeffrey J. Mayer, ACT! 4 for Windows for Dummies, page xx:
  • […] 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.2012, Gerald DeJong, Investigating Explanation-Based Learning, page 108:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.