One syllable: Clear.
klir
/klɪɹ/
Clear is pronounced klir (/klɪɹ/). It has one syllable (Clear), with the stress on "Clear". Clear is an adjective meaning free from darkness, obscurity, or ambiguity; easily understood or seen. It can describe something transparent, legible, or unmistakable, and is used to express openness or lack of obstruction. In everyday speech it also functions as an interjection to call attention to a safe or open condition, or to affirm agreement with a situation.
adjectiveClear is an adjective meaning free from darkness, obscurity, or ambiguity; easily understood or seen. It can describe something transparent, legible, or unmistakable, and is used to express openness or lack of obstruction. In everyday speech it also functions as an interjection to call attention to a safe or open condition, or to affirm agreement with a situation.
How to Pronounce Clear
"The instructions were written in a clear, straightforward way."
"The lake water was so clear you could see the bottom."
"Her explanation made the theory suddenly feel clear enough to apply."
/klɪr/ in US and many UK dialects; in many UK accents you’ll hear /klɪə/ or /klɪəɹ/ depending on rhoticity. Start with a short, crisp /k/ followed by a short /l/ with a light tongue-tip touch, then a quick front-focused /ɪ/ vowel, and finish with a clear /r/ or a vowel-like offglide in non-rhotic settings. Keep lips relaxed and avoid vowel lengthening.
Common mistakes include pronouncing the vowel as a full /iː/ or a lax /ɪ/ with a trailing /ə/ (making it sound like ‘cleer’ or ‘clera’), and adding an extra consonant sound at the end (e.g., /klɪərd/). Another frequent error is clipping the /r/ in non-rhotic accents, which makes it sound like /klɪə/. The fix: keep the nucleus as a short /ɪ/ or a precise /ɪə/ depending on your accent, and articulate the final /r/ only if your dialect uses rhotic r. Practice with minimal pairs to feel the brief offglide.
In US English you typically have /klɪɚ/ with rhotic /r/. In many UK accents it is /klɪə/ with a non-rhotic ending; some speakers pronounce a short /ɪ/ followed by a mid-to-high back vowel with a rolling offglide. Australian speakers often approach /klɪə/ or /klɪəɹ/ depending on speaker, sometimes with a slight centering diphthong. The key differences: rhoticity, vowel quality and the treatment of the final consonant. Try to align your glide and tongue position with your target variety.
Because it involves a brief, high-front vowel followed by an /r/ or a schwa-like offglide in non-rhotic dialects, which can cause tension in the tongue for non-native speakers. The /ɪ/ to /ɹ/ transition requires subtle shaping of the tongue and lip rounding. Additionally, the final /r/ varies by dialect: rhotic US English keeps the /ɹ/; many UK accents lose the /r/ sound, leaving a vowel-like syllable. Mastery depends on precise tongue height, jaw position, and the timing of the offglide.
There is no silent letter in Clear per se. The challenge is not a silent letter but the subtle vowel and rhotic transitions. In non-rhotic British speech, the final /r/ is often not pronounced, so your ear may hear a trailing vowel instead. The emphasis is on the nucleus /ɪ/ and the postvocalic /ɹ/ or its absence in certain dialects. Practicing with the two rhotics—present vs. absent—helps you align with your target accent.
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Clear originates from the Old French cler, clair, from Latin clarus meaning bright, famous, or clear. The earliest English uses appear around the 12th century, often in contexts of brightness or transparency (clear water, a clear sky). The word broadened in Middle English to include meanings of freedom from obstruction and lack of confusion, as in clear judgment or a clear directive. Through the 16th–18th centuries, it extended to legal and moral clarity, with phrases like clear evidence or clear conscience popularizing sense of unambiguous truth. The semantic evolution reflects shifts from physical brightness to epistemic lucidity, culminating in modern uses such as “make it clear” or “be clear about X.” The root is tied to Proto-Italic and Proto-Indo-European roots linked to light and brightness, underscoring the long-standing metaphor that clarity equals illumination. First known use in English is attested in medieval texts, aligning with related Romance forms in clair and claire, indicating the cross-linguistic association between light and understanding.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Clear" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Clear"
-ear sounds
-eer sounds
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