clarifying

C3L1A1R1I1F4Y4I1N1G2
/ˈklæɹɪfaɪ.ɪŋ/

noun

A clarification.

“Wash your hair with clarifying shampoo.”

Less commonScrabble 19

Meanings

verb
  1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of clarify
nounclarifying (plural clarifyings)

plural clarifyings

  1. A clarification.

    Then after that process which Culverwel describes as so many strainings, refinings, and clarifyings, the mind is prepared for a true insight into the real nature of the world by way of intuition.

    1931, John de Boer, The Theory of Knowledge of the Cambridge Platonists, page 64
adjectiveclarifying (comparative more clarifying, superlative most clarifying)

comparative more clarifying · superlative most clarifying

  1. Providing clarity; making clear.
    1 more example

    I found the book to be insightful and clarifying in a way that traditional career-focused books for women rarely are. Rather than lay out a prescriptive path, they really listened to women talk about their lives and challenges — how novel! — and illuminated areas of overlap, surfaced and clarified themes, and pointed out commonalities that extend beyond the borders of their graduating class. 2015 April 24, Erin Keane, “The Cooper Union Tragedy”, in The New Yorker: Perhaps the Attorney General’s investigation will shed an equally clarifying light upon the inner workings of the institution today.

    The witness gave some clarifying information about the event. 2018 June 23, Erin Keane, “Inside women's “Ambition Decisions”: On opting out, buying in or embracing the "flex life"”, in Salon
  2. Removing impurities or particulates.

    Wash your hair with clarifying shampoo.

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivethat makes clear

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry
APA

clarifying. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clarifying

MLA

“clarifying.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clarifying. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “clarifying,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clarifying.

Source: clarifying on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.