Clarity: Being Easy to See, Hear or Understand
Clarity is the quality of being clear. It applies to water, sound, images and thought, and in writing it is usually the hardest quality to achieve.
Clarity is transparency of any kind: water you can see through, sound without distortion, prose without fog. In writing it is not a decorative quality but a structural one — you cannot polish clarity into a sentence whose thinking is muddled.
- Transparency. *The clarity of the water.*
- Sharpness of sound or image. *Remarkable clarity for an old recording.*
- Ease of understanding. *The report lacks clarity.*
- Clearness of thought. *A moment of clarity.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | clarity | Absolute clarity. |
| Adjective | clear | A clear explanation. |
| Verb | clarify | Clarify the point. |
| Adverb | clearly | Clearly stated. |
| Opposite | ambiguity | Legal ambiguity. |
How it is used in a sentence
- We need clarity on who is responsible.Clarity on — the standard preposition.
- The diamond was graded for clarity and colour.A technical grading term.
- He spoke with unusual clarity about a difficult subject.Praise for both thought and expression.
Where clarity is measured
- Diamonds — graded from flawless down through included
- Audio — measured against distortion and noise
- Water — measured as turbidity, the cloudiness caused by particles
- Writing — no measurement, only readers who either follow you or do not
From Latin *claritas*, brightness or fame, from *clarus*, clear. The Latin word could mean renown as easily as brightness — a famous person was someone the world could see clearly.
Clarity on or clarity about?
Both occur; *clarity on* is more common in business and official writing, *clarity about* in general prose.
Is clarity countable?
No. Say a lack of clarity or greater clarity rather than clarities.