Meanings
comparative unclearer · comparative more unclear · superlative unclearest · superlative most unclear
- Ambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation.
The remark she made comparing her life with that of a fish was unclear.
- Not clearly or explicitly defined.
- Not easy to see or read; indecipherable or unreadable.
From such a long distance away, the name on the signpost was unclear.
- Not having a clear idea; uncertain.
I'm still unclear about what she meant by that remark.
present singular third person unclears · participle present unclearing · participle past uncleared · past uncleared
- raretransitiveTo undo the process of clearing.
Clearing, unclearing and deleting activities
1998, Jeffrey J. Mayer, ACT! 4 for Windows for Dummies, page xx1 more example
[…] 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
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivepoorly stated or described
adjectivenot clear to the mind
adjectivenot easily deciphered
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishunclere
- Englishunclear
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”).
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἀσαφής, ἀσαφής
- ἀσαφής (asaphḗs)ambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
- ἀσαφής (asaphḗs)not easy to see or read; indecipherable or unreadable
Bulgarian нея́сен
- нея́сен (nejásen)ambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
Chinese Mandarin 不清, 不明顯 /不明显
- 不清 (bùqīng)ambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
- 不明顯 /不明显 (bù míngxiǎn)not clearly or explicitly defined
Czech nejasný, nejasný
- nejasnýambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
- nejasnýnot clearly or explicitly defined
Finnish monitulkintainen, epäselvä
- monitulkintainenambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
- epäselväambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
- epäselvänot clearly or explicitly defined
- epäselvänot easy to see or read; indecipherable or unreadable
German unklar, unübersichtlich
- unklarambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
- unübersichtlichambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
- unklarnot clearly or explicitly defined
- undeutlichnot easy to see or read; indecipherable or unreadable
- unübersichtlichnot easy to see or read; indecipherable or unreadable
Greek ασαφής, αδιευκρίνιστος
- ασαφής (asafís)ambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
- αδιευκρίνιστος (adiefkrínistos)not clearly or explicitly defined
Hungarian homályos, ködös
- homályosambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
- ködösambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
- tisztázatlannot clearly or explicitly defined
Italian ambiguo, confuso
- ambiguoambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
- confusoambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
- vagonot clearly or explicitly defined
- imprecisonot clearly or explicitly defined
- illeggibilenot easy to see or read; indecipherable or unreadable
- indecifrabilenot easy to see or read; indecipherable or unreadable
- incomprensibilenot easy to see or read; indecipherable or unreadable
Japanese 不明
- 不明 (fumei)not clearly or explicitly defined
Lithuanian neaiškus
- neaiškusambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
Māori ngau, hākirikiri
- ngaunot easy to see or read; indecipherable or unreadable
- hākirikirinot easy to see or read; indecipherable or unreadable
Polish niejasny, niejasny
- niejasnyambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
- niejasnynot clearly or explicitly defined
Portuguese confuso, confuso
- confusoambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
- confusonot clearly or explicitly defined
Romanian neclar, ambiguu
- neclarambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
- ambiguuambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
Russian нея́сный, нея́сный
- нея́сный (nejásnyj)ambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
- нея́сный (nejásnyj)not clearly or explicitly defined
- непоня́тный (neponjátnyj)not clearly or explicitly defined
- нечёткий (nečótkij)not easy to see or read; indecipherable or unreadable
- нея́сный (nejásnyj)not easy to see or read; indecipherable or unreadable
Slovak nejasný
- nejasnýambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
Spanish ambiguo, equívoco
- ambiguoambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
- equívocoambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
- poco claroambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
- confusoambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
- poco claronot clearly or explicitly defined
- confusonot clearly or explicitly defined
- poco claronot easy to see or read; indecipherable or unreadable
Turkish bulanık
- bulanıkambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
Ukrainian нея́сний, нечітки́й
- нея́сний (nejásnyj)ambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
- нечітки́й (nečitkýj)not easy to see or read; indecipherable or unreadable
Yiddish אומקלאָר
- אומקלאָר (umklor)ambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with unclear
Anagrams
Cite this entry
unclear. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unclear
“unclear.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unclear. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unclear,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unclear.
Source: unclear on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.