clearly

clearly
adverb
1)

write clearly

Syn:
intelligibly, plainly, distinctly, comprehensibly, with clarity; legibly, audibly; formal perspicuously
2)

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
••
clearly
Exaggerators 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.

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  • Clearly — Clear ly, adv. In a clear manner. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • clearly — c.1300, of vision and speech, from CLEAR (Cf. clear) + LY (Cf. ly) (2). Meaning evidently is from 1560s; as a parenthetical expression in argument, it is clear, recorded from 1867 …   Etymology dictionary

  • clearly — [adv] without any doubt acutely, apparently, audibly, beyond doubt, certainly, conspicuously, decidedly, definitely, discernibly, distinctly, evidently, incontestably, incontrovertibly, indubitably, lucidly, manifestly, markedly, noticeably,… …   New thesaurus

  • clearly — ► ADVERB 1) with clarity. 2) obviously; without doubt …   English terms dictionary

  • clearly — /klear lee/, adv. 1. in a clear manner: It is difficult to explain complex matters clearly. 2. without equivocation; decidedly: It is clearly out of the question to drop the case. [1250 1300; ME clerli. See CLEAR, LY] Syn. 1. plainly,… …   Universalium

  • clearly — clear|ly [ klırli ] adverb *** 1. ) used for showing that what you are saying is true and that most people will realize this: OBVIOUSLY: Both companies clearly like to do things their own way. Clearly we wouldn t want to upset anyone. 2. ) in a… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • clearly */*/*/ — UK [ˈklɪə(r)lɪ] / US [ˈklɪrlɪ] adverb 1) used for showing that what you are saying is true and that most people will realize this Both companies clearly like to do things their own way. Clearly we wouldn t want to upset anyone. 2) a) in a way… …   English dictionary

  • clearly*/*/*/ — [ˈklɪəli] adv 1) used for emphasizing that what you are saying is true Syn: obviously Both companies clearly like to do things their own way.[/ex] Clearly we wouldn t want to upset anyone.[/ex] 2) in a way that people can easily see, hear, or… …   Dictionary for writing and speaking English

  • clearly — clear, clearly The grammatical situation is similar to that in the preceding entry, with clear available as an adverb in two principal meanings, (1) ‘completely’ (They got clear away), (2) ‘in a clear manner, with clear effect’ (They spoke out… …   Modern English usage

  • clearly — clear|ly W1S1 [ˈklıəli US ˈklırli] adv 1.) [sentence adverb] without any doubt = ↑obviously ▪ Clearly, ignoring him had been a mistake. 2.) in a way that is easy to see, hear, or understand ▪ Please speak clearly. ▪ The economy was clearly… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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