different between clear vs simple
clear
English
Alternative forms
- CLR (contraction used in electronics)
Etymology
From Middle English clere, from Anglo-Norman cler, from Old French cler (Modern French clair), from Latin clarus. Displaced native Middle English schir (“clear, pure”) (from Old English sc?r (“clear, bright”)), Middle English skere (“clear, sheer”) (from Old English sc?re and Old Norse sk?r (“sheer, clear, pure”)), Middle English smolt (“clear (of mind), serene”) (from Old English smolt (“peaceful, serene”)). Cognate with Danish klar, Dutch klaar, French clair, German klar, Italian chiaro, Norwegian klar, Portuguese claro, Romanian clar, Spanish claro, and Swedish klar.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /kl??(?)/
- (General American) IPA(key): /kl??/
- Rhymes: -??(r)
Adjective
clear (comparative clearer, superlative clearest)
- Transparent in colour.
- Bright, not dark or obscured.
- Free of obstacles.
- Without clouds.
- Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. The clear light of the bright autumn morning had no terrors for youth and health like hers.
- (meteorology) Of the sky, such that less than one eighth of its area is obscured by clouds.
- Free of ambiguity or doubt.
- Distinct, sharp, well-marked.
- Synonym: conspicuous
- (figuratively) Free of guilt, or suspicion.
- (of a soup) Without a thickening ingredient.
- Possessing little or no perceptible stimulus.
- (Scientology) Free from the influence of engrams; see Clear (Scientology).
- 1971, Leonard Cohen, "Famous Blue Raincoat":
- Yes, and Jane came by with a lock of your hair. She said that you gave it to her that night that you planned to go clear. Did you ever go clear?
- 1971, Leonard Cohen, "Famous Blue Raincoat":
- Able to perceive clearly; keen; acute; penetrating; discriminating.
- Not clouded with passion; serene; cheerful.
- with a countenance as clear / As friendship wears at feasts
- Easily or distinctly heard; audible.
- c. 1708, Alexander Pope “Ode On St. Cecilia's Day”:
- Hark! the numbers, soft and clear / Gently steal upon the ear
- c. 1708, Alexander Pope “Ode On St. Cecilia's Day”:
- Unmixed; entirely pure.
- Without defects or blemishes, such as freckles or knots.
- Without diminution; in full; net.
- 1728, Jonathan Swift “Horace, Lib. 2, Sat. 6”:
- I often wished that I had clear / For life, six hundred pounds a year
- 1728, Jonathan Swift “Horace, Lib. 2, Sat. 6”:
Synonyms
- (transparency): pellucid, transparent; See also Thesaurus:transparent
- (free of ambiguity or doubt): See also Thesaurus:comprehensible of Thesaurus:explicit
- (distinct): See also Thesaurus:distinct
- (easily or distinctly heard): See also Thesaurus:audible
- (unmixed): homogeneous
Antonyms
- (transparency): opaque, turbid
- (bright): See also Thesaurus:dark
- (without clouds): cloudy, nebulous; See also Thesaurus:nebulous
- (free of ambiguity or doubt): See also Thesaurus:incomprehensible and Thesaurus:confusing
- (of a soup): thick
- obscure
Hyponyms
- crystal clear
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
Adverb
clear (not comparable)
- All the way; entirely.
- I threw it clear across the river to the other side.
- Not near something or touching it.
- Stand clear of the rails, a train is coming.
- free (or separate) from others
- (obsolete) In a clear manner; plainly.
Translations
Verb
clear (third-person singular simple present clears, present participle clearing, simple past and past participle cleared)
- (transitive) To remove obstructions, impediments or other unwanted items from.
- Police took two hours to clear the road.
- If you clear the table, I'll wash up.
- “A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; and she looked it, always trim and trig and smooth of surface like a converted yacht cleared for action. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, […].
- 1715–8, Matthew Prior, “Alma: or, The Progre?s of the Mind” in Poems on Several Occa?ions (1741), canto III, p.297:
- Faith, Dick, I mu?t confe?s, ?tis true // (But this is only Entre Nous) // That many knotty Points there are, // Which All di?cu?s, but Few can clear.
- (transitive) To remove (items or material) so as to leave something unobstructed or open.
- Please clear all this stuff off the table.
- The loggers came and cleared the trees.
- 1711 November 6, Joseph Addison, The Spectator No. 215:
- […] Aristotle has brought to explain his Doctrine of Substantial Forms, when he tells us that a Statue lies hid in a Block of Marble; and that the Art of the statuary only clears away the superfluous Matter, and removes the Rubbish.
- (intransitive) To leave abruptly; to clear off or clear out.
- (intransitive) To become free from obstruction or obscurement; to become transparent.
- (transitive) To eliminate ambiguity or doubt from (a matter); to clarify or resolve; to clear up.
- (transitive) To remove from suspicion, especially of having committed a crime.
- 1713, Joseph Addison, Cato, a Tragedy, Act III, scene v:
- How! Wouldst thou clear rebellion?
- 1713, Joseph Addison, Cato, a Tragedy, Act III, scene v:
- (transitive) To pass without interference; to miss.
- (transitive, activities such as jumping or throwing) To exceed a stated mark.
- (transitive, video games) To finish or complete (a stage, challenge, or game).
- I cleared the first level in 36 seconds.
- (intransitive) Of a check or financial transaction, to go through as payment; to be processed so that the money is transferred.
- (transitive, business) To earn a profit of; to net.
- (transitive) To approve or authorise for a particular purpose or action; to give clearance to.
- (transitive) To obtain approval or authorisation in respect of.
- (intransitive) To obtain a clearance.
- (transitive) To obtain permission to use (a sample of copyrighted audio) in another track.
- To disengage oneself from incumbrances, distress, or entanglements; to become free.
- 1613, Francis Bacon, The E??aies (second edition), essay 18: “Of Expences”:
- Be?ides, he that cleares at once will relap?e: for finding him?elfe out of ?traights, he will reuert to his cu?tomes. But hee that cleareth by degrees, induceth an habite of frugality, and gaineth as well vpon his minde, as vpon his E?tate.
- 1613, Francis Bacon, The E??aies (second edition), essay 18: “Of Expences”:
- (transitive, intransitive, sports) To hit, kick, head, punch etc. (a ball, puck) away in order to defend one's goal.
- (transitive, computing) To reset or unset; to return to an empty state or to zero.
- (transitive, computing) To style (an element within a document) so that it is not permitted to float at a given position.
Synonyms
- (clear a forest): stub
Derived terms
- clear away
- clear off
- clear out
- clear up
- clearance
- clearing
Translations
Noun
clear (plural clears)
- (carpentry) Full extent; distance between extreme limits; especially; the distance between the nearest surfaces of two bodies, or the space between walls.
- a room ten feet square in the clear
- (video games) The completion of a stage or challenge, or of the whole game.
- It took me weeks to achieve a one-credit clear (1CC).
- (Scientology) A person who is free from the influence of engrams.
- 1985, Rodney Stark, William Sims Bainbridge, The Future of Religion (page 269)
- Today, clear status can be conferred only by high ranking ministers of the church, and clears are not presented for examination by outsiders.
- 1985, Rodney Stark, William Sims Bainbridge, The Future of Religion (page 269)
References
- clear at OneLook Dictionary Search
- clear in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
Anagrams
- 'clare, Carle, Clare, carle, lacer, recal
clear From the web:
- what clears acne
- what clears acne scars
- what clears dark spots
- what clears a stuffy nose
- what clears sinuses
- what clears mucus
- what clears up mucus
- what clears acne fast
simple
English
Etymology
From Middle English symple, simple, from Old French and French simple, from Latin simplex (“simple”, literally “onefold”) (as opposed to duplex (“double”, literally “twofold”)), from semel (“the same”) + plic? (“I fold”). See same and fold. Compare single, singular, simultaneous, etc.
Partially displaced native English onefold.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?s?mp?l/
- Rhymes: -?mp?l
- Hyphenation: sim?ple
Adjective
simple (comparative simpler or more simple, superlative simplest or most simple)
- Uncomplicated; taken by itself, with nothing added.
- 2001, Sydney I. Landau, Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography, Cambridge University Press ?ISBN, page 167,
- There is no simple way to define precisely a complex arrangement of parts, however homely the object may appear to be.
- 2001, Sydney I. Landau, Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography, Cambridge University Press ?ISBN, page 167,
- Without ornamentation; plain.
- Free from duplicity; guileless, innocent, straightforward.
- 1605, John Marston, The Dutch Courtesan
- Full many fine men go upon my score, as simple as I stand here, and I trust them.
- 1838, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Literary Ethics - an Oration delivered before the Literary Societies of Dartmouth College, July 24, 1838
- To be simple is to be great.
- 1605, John Marston, The Dutch Courtesan
- Undistinguished in social condition; of no special rank.
- Antonym: gentle
- (now rare) Trivial; insignificant.
- 1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur, Book X:
- ‘That was a symple cause,’ seyde Sir Trystram, ‘for to sle a good knyght for seyynge well by his maystir.’
- 1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur, Book X:
- (now colloquial) Feeble-minded; foolish.
- (heading, technical) Structurally uncomplicated.
- (chemistry, pharmacology) Consisting of one single substance; uncompounded.
- (mathematics) Of a group: having no normal subgroup.
- (botany) Not compound, but possibly lobed.
- (of a steam engine) Using steam only once in its cylinders, in contrast to a compound engine, where steam is used more than once in high-pressure and low-pressure cylinders.
- 1959, Steam's Finest Hour, edited by David P. Morgan, Kalmbach Publishing Co., page 6:
- 1959, Steam's Finest Hour, edited by David P. Morgan, Kalmbach Publishing Co., page 6:
- (zoology) Consisting of a single individual or zooid; not compound.
- (mineralogy) Homogenous.
- (obsolete) Mere; not other than; being only.
Synonyms
- (consisting of a single part or aspect): onefold
- (having few parts or features): plain
- See also Thesaurus:easy and Thesaurus:bare-bones
Antonyms
- (having few parts or features): complex, compound, complicated
- (uncomplicated): subtle
Derived terms
Translations
Noun
simple (plural simples)
- (pharmacology) A herbal preparation made from one plant, as opposed to something made from more than one plant.
- 2003, Dolores Stewart Riccio, Charmed Circle, Kensington Books (?ISBN), page 12:
- The venerable carryall, formerly brimming with all manner of esoteric pamphlets and witch's simples, now overflowed with a cascade of soft toys, juice bottles, tissues, linen books for infants, […]
- 2003, Dolores Stewart Riccio, Charmed Circle, Kensington Books (?ISBN), page 12:
- (obsolete, by extension) A physician.
- (logic) A simple or atomic proposition.
- (obsolete) Something not mixed or compounded.
- (weaving) A drawloom.
- (weaving) Part of the apparatus for raising the heddles of a drawloom.
- (Roman Catholicism) A feast which is not a double or a semidouble.
Translations
Verb
simple (third-person singular simple present simples, present participle simpling, simple past and past participle simpled)
- (transitive, intransitive, archaic) To gather simples, i.e. medicinal herbs.
Derived terms
- simpler
- simplist
- simplify
Anagrams
- LEMSIP, impels
Asturian
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin simplex.
Adjective
simple (epicene, plural simples)
- simple (uncomplicated)
Synonyms
- cenciellu
Catalan
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin simplex.
Pronunciation
- (Balearic, Central) IPA(key): /?sim.pl?/
- (Valencian) IPA(key): /?sim.ple/
Adjective
simple (masculine and feminine plural simples)
- simple (uncomplicated)
- Synonym: senzill
- single (not divided into parts)
Derived terms
- fulla simple (“simple leaf”)
- simplement (“simply”)
Related terms
- símplex (“simplex”)
- simplicitat (“simplicity”)
- ximple
Further reading
- “simple” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “simple” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
- “simple” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
Chavacano
Etymology
From Spanish simple (“simple”).
Adjective
simple
- simple
Esperanto
Etymology
From simpla +? -e.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?simple/
- Hyphenation: sim?ple
Adverb
simple
- simply
French
Etymology
From Old French, borrowed from Latin simplex.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /s??pl/
Adjective
simple (plural simples)
- single (multiplier)
- simple
- one-way
- mere
Usage notes
The second and third meanings are taken when the adjective is placed after the noun. The fourth meaning is taken when it is located before the noun.
Derived terms
Descendants
- ? Romanian: simplu
Noun
simple m (plural simples)
- one-way ticket
- (baseball) single
Related terms
Further reading
- “simple” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Anagrams
- emplis
Galician
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin simplex. Displaced Old Portuguese simplez.
Adjective
simple m or f (plural simples)
- simple
German
Adjective
simple
- inflection of simpel:
- strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
- strong nominative/accusative plural
- weak nominative all-gender singular
- weak accusative feminine/neuter singular
Latin
Adjective
simple
- vocative masculine singular of simplus
Middle English
Adjective
simple
- Alternative form of symple
Noun
simple
- Alternative form of symple
Norwegian Bokmål
Adjective
simple
- definite singular of simpel
- plural of simpel
Norwegian Nynorsk
Adjective
simple
- definite singular of simpel
- plural of simpel
Old French
Alternative forms
- sinple
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin simplex.
Adjective
simple m (oblique and nominative feminine singular simple)
- innocent
- mere; simple
- honest; without pretense
- peasant, pauper (attributive)
Descendants
- French: simple
- ? Romanian: simplu
- ? Middle English: symple, simple
- Scots: semple
- English: simple
Romanian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [?sim.ple]
Adjective
simple
- feminine/neuter plural nominative/accusative of simplu
Spanish
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin simplex.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?simple/, [?s?m.ple]
Adjective
simple (plural simples)
- simple (uncomplicated)
- Synonym: sencillo
- Antonym: complejo
- (before the noun) mere, ordinary
- Synonym: mero
- simple, single (not divided into parts)
- Antonym: compuesto
- simple-minded, stupid
- insipid, flavorless
- Synonym: soso
- (grammar) simple
Usage notes
A way to think of the difference between simple and sencillo, which both mean "simple" in English, is that the antonym of simple is complejo (“complex”), whereas the antonym of sencillo is complicado (“complicated”).
Derived terms
Descendants
- Chavacano: simple
Noun
simple m or f (plural simples)
- simpleton, fool
- (pharmacology, masculine only) simple
See also
- más simple que el mecanismo de un botijo
Further reading
- “simple” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.
Swedish
Adjective
simple
- absolute definite natural masculine form of simpel.
Anagrams
- simpel
Tagalog
Etymology
Borrowed from Spanish simple.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?simpl?/
Adjective
símple
- simple; plain
- Synonyms: payak, yano, liso
simple From the web:
- what simple sugar is broken down in the mitochondria
- what simple sugar is produced
- what simple machine is a doorknob
- what simple machine is a seesaw
- what simple machine is a screwdriver
- what simple machine is a hammer
- what simple machine is a shovel
- what simple machine is a wheelbarrow
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