Clarify
To make something clearer and easier to understand by removing ambiguity or confusion.
verbClarify
To make something clearer and easier to understand by removing ambiguity or confusion.
verbImagine This
Imagine a foggy window on a classroom door. A teacher speaks slowly and writes a precise explanation on the glass, and the students' faces brighten as the message becomes crystal clear.
Sounds Like
KLAR-uh-fy
Looks Like
Shares the root with 'clear' and 'clarity'; visually related to those words.
Remember This
The root 'clar-' means clear. 'Clarify' literally means to make clear; the suffix '-ify' means 'to make' or 'to cause to be'.
Other Forms
Connect With
explain, elucidate, illuminate, demystify, define
Note
Use 'clarify' when you want to remove ambiguity from a statement, instruction, or argument. Do not use it when you mean 'explain why something happened' unless that explanation is needed to remove confusion. Distinguish from 'justify' (to show something is right), which is not the same as removing confusion.