- clearly
- adverb1)
write clearly
Syn:intelligibly, plainly, distinctly, comprehensibly, with clarity; legibly, audibly; formal perspicuously2)clearly, substantial changes are needed
Syn:obviously, evidently, patently, unquestionably, undoubtedly, without doubt, indubitably, plainly, undeniably, incontrovertibly, irrefutably, doubtless, it goes without saying, needless to say••clearlyExaggerators like this word, along with its cousins (obviously, undeniably, undoubtedly, and the like). Often a statement prefaced with one of these words is conclusory, and sometimes even exceedingly dubious. As a result — though some readers don't consciously realize it — clearly and its ilk are ‘weasel words’ — that is, unnecessary words that supposedly intensify the meaning of a statement, but actually weaken it. Just how much clearly can weaken a statement is evident in the following example, in which the author uses the word to buttress a claim about his own state of mind: "Clearly, I am not to be convinced that this is a small matter." (Stephen White, The Written Word; 1984.) — BG
Thesaurus of popular words. 2014.