uhn-KLIR
/ənˈklɪɹ/
unclear is pronounced uhn-KLIR (/ənˈklɪɹ/). Unclear describes something not easy to understand or perceiving information unclearly. It indicates vagueness, ambiguity, or obscurity in meaning, expression, or signal quality. The term often signals a need for clarification or more precise communication, especially when a message, intention, or image lacks clarity or precision.
Unclear describes something not easy to understand or perceiving information unclearly. It indicates vagueness, ambiguity, or obscurity in meaning, expression, or signal quality. The term often signals a need for clarification or more precise communication, especially when a message, intention, or image lacks clarity or precision.
"The instructions were unclear, so I asked for step-by-step guidance."
"Her handwriting was unclear, making it hard to decipher the dates."
"The weather forecast was unclear about the chances of rain."
Pronounce as un-CL-eer, with the primary stress on the second syllable: /ʌnˈklɪər/ (US/UK) and /ʌnˈklɪə/ in many British varieties. Begin with the /ʌ/ sound like ‘cup,’ move to /n/, then a clear /ˈklɪə/ sequence where /ɪ/ is a short, near-high vowel and /ə/ is reduced in some dialects. Mouth: raise the tongue slightly for /lɪə/ or /ˈklɪə/, keep the lips relaxed.
Common errors include misplacing stress (say-ing un-CLear instead of un-CLear), turning /ɪə/ into a pure /iː/ or a flat /ə/ vowel, and dropping the /l/ lightly (making it ‘un-kyre’). Correct by practicing the /ˈklɪə/ cluster: start with /kl/ then smoothly glide to /ɪə/; keep the /l/ light but audible, and ensure the second syllable carries strong stress.
In US, the second syllable often sounds like /ɪər/ or /ɪr/ with a more rhotic approach; in UK, /ˈklɪə/ may be more centralized to /ˈklɪə/ or /ˈklɪə/ with a non-rhotic ending; in Australian, you might hear a rounded but relaxed /ə/ in the final position and a slightly broader vowel in /ɪə/. The key is that the /ɪə/ or /iə/ quality shifts subtly with rhoticity and vowel length, but the primary stress remains on the second syllable.
Because of the /ɪə/ or /iə/ diphthong in the final syllable and the consonant cluster /kl/ that sits between two vowels; many non-native speakers mispronounce it as /ʌnˈklɛər/ or misplace stress, turning it into un-CLEAR. Focus on the glide from /ɪ/ to /ə/ while keeping /l/ clearly pronounced and avoiding vowel reduction in the second syllable to maintain clarity.
No. The 'n' in 'unclear' is pronounced: /ʌnˈklɪər/. It’s a normal alveolar nasal /n/ before the /k/ onset of the stressed syllable. Some learners unintentionally assimilate the nasal into the following consonant, but English keeps the /n/ distinct. Practice by saying 'un' with /n/ clearly followed by the /k/ onset of the next syllable.
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Unclear comes from the prefix un- meaning 'not' and clear, from Old French cler ‘clear, bright, evident,’ from Latin clarus ‘bright, clear, famous; bright in the mind.’ In Middle English, un- + clere (variant of cler) produced ‘unclear’ to describe something not easy to understand or not transparent. The current sense of not seeing or understanding clearly arose by the late Middle Ages and has remained stable through Early Modern English into contemporary usage. The word’s use expanded from physical clarity (a water body being unclear) to cognitive and communicative clarity (an unclear message, unclear reasoning). Cross-linguistic relatives appear in many Germanic and Romance languages where the negating prefix un- pairs with a root akin to clear/clarity, maintaining the same polarity and nuance of obscurity. The pronunciation standardization in English kept the two-syllable structure: un-clear, stress on the second syllable is common in rapid speech when used as an adjective before a noun (e.g., unclear plan) and more evenly stressed when emphasizing the negation (e.g., It remains unclear what happened). First known uses appear in Middle English texts, with Latin-derived roots evident in early Modern English dictionaries and grammars documenting the dichotomy of clarity versus obscurity in communication and perception.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "unclear" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "unclear"
-ure sounds
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