Standard Lemma guide

clarification

noun · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /ˌklæɹɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • /ˌklɛɹɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/ Mary–marry–merry merger
  • Australian: /ˌklæɹɪfɪˈkæɪʃən/
  • rhymes with -eɪʃən
  • CMU ARPABET: K L EH2 R AH0 F AH0 K EY1 SH AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The act of clarifying; the act or process of making clear or transparent by freeing visible impurities; particularly, the clearing or fining of liquid substances from impurities via the separation of the insoluble particles which prevent the liquid from being transparent.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • The clarification of wine.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The act of freeing from obscurities; disambiguation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • Your ideas deserve clarification.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

An explanatory comment on, or question about, a point of obscurity.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • Let me make just one clarification: did he kiss her, or did she kiss him?

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A small piece of writing supplemental to a previously published text, intended to disambiguate, explain away obscurities, but not contradict or emend the text (as would a correction).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: journalism, media

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

Clarity, transparency, mutual understanding; to be clear.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • So, just for clarification, you're saying your Chihuahua ate your homework?

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

the act of removing solid particles from a liquid

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: clearing

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: improvement

7

noun

Meaning 7

an interpretation that removes obstacles to understanding

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the professor's clarification helped her to understand the textbook

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: elucidation, illumination

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: interpretation

Narrower terms: disambiguation

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French clarification, from Latin clārificātiō.

Across languages

Translations

64 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: تَرْوِيق (tarwīq) — physical clarification (wine, butter, etc.)
  • Arabic: تَصْفِيَة (taṣfiya) — physical clarification (wine, butter, etc.)
  • Bulgarian: избистряне (izbistrjane) — physical clarification (wine, butter, etc.)
  • Catalan: clarificació — physical clarification (wine, butter, etc.)
  • Dutch: klaring — physical clarification (wine, butter, etc.)
  • Finnish: selkeytys — physical clarification (wine, butter, etc.)
  • French: clarification — physical clarification (wine, butter, etc.)
  • Galician: clarificación — physical clarification (wine, butter, etc.)
  • Greek: διαύγαση (diávgasi) — physical clarification (wine, butter, etc.)
  • Hungarian: derítés — physical clarification (wine, butter, etc.)
  • Hungarian: szűrés — physical clarification (wine, butter, etc.)
  • Hungarian: tisztítás — physical clarification (wine, butter, etc.)
  • Interlingua: clarification — physical clarification (wine, butter, etc.)
  • Italian: chiarificazione — physical clarification (wine, butter, etc.)
  • Ottoman Turkish: تصفیه (tasfiye) — physical clarification (wine, butter, etc.)
  • Portuguese: clarificação — physical clarification (wine, butter, etc.)
  • Russian: осветле́ние (osvetlénije) — physical clarification (wine, butter, etc.)
  • Russian: очище́ние (očiščénije) — physical clarification (wine, butter, etc.)
  • Russian: очи́стка (očístka) — physical clarification (wine, butter, etc.)
  • Spanish: clarificación — physical clarification (wine, butter, etc.)
  • Ukrainian: очи́щення (očýščennja) — physical clarification (wine, butter, etc.)
  • Ukrainian: осві́тлення (osvítlennja) — physical clarification (wine, butter, etc.)
  • Arabic: تَوْضِيح (tawḍīḥ) — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Armenian: պարզաբանում (parzabanum) — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Azerbaijani: aydınlaşma — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Azerbaijani: aydınlaşdırma — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Bulgarian: изясняване (izjasnjavane) — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Catalan: aclariment — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Dutch: opheldering — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Dutch: verduidelijking — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Finnish: tarkennus — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Finnish: täsmennys — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Finnish: selkeytys — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Finnish: selkiytys — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Finnish: selvennys — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • French: clarification — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • German: Erläuterung — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • German: Verdeutlichung — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Gothic: 𐍃𐌺𐌴𐌹𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 (skeireins) — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Greek: διευκρίνιση (diefkrínisi) — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Greek: αποσαφήνιση (aposafínisi) — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Hindi: स्पष्टीकरण (spaṣṭīkraṇ) — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Hungarian: tisztázás — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Hungarian: pontosítás — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Hungarian: egyértelműsítés — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Interlingua: clarification — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Italian: chiarimento — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Italian: chiarificazione — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Norwegian Bokmål: avklaring — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: avklaring — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Polish: klaryfikacja — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Portuguese: clarificação — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Romanian: clarificare — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Russian: проясне́ние (projasnénije) — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Russian: поясне́ние (pojasnénije) — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Russian: объясне́ние (obʺjasnénije) — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Russian: разъясне́ние (razʺjasnénije) — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Spanish: clarificación — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Spanish: aclaración — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Spanish: esclarecimiento — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Swedish: förtydligande — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Tagalog: paglilinaw — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Tagalog: klaripikasyon — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc
  • Ukrainian: роз'я́снення (rozʺjásnennja) — clarification of ideas, meaning, etc