Alanna Madden
January 14, 2021
Grammar Tips
Clearer is the correct comparative adjective for describing something as “more clear.” If something is the “most clear,” use superlative “clearest.”
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The adjective clear describes something as transparent, easy to understand, or uncluttered. But if something is “especially clear” when compared to another, should we use “clearer” or “more clear”?
Native speakers are always surprised to learn how “clearer” is, in fact, a real word. To start, English uses clearer as a comparative adjective of “clear” to mean “more clear.” However, we also use “clearer” as a noun to describe someone who ‘declutters’ or ‘clears’ an area.
But while we use “clearer” to mean ‘more clear,’ that doesn’t mean we should write “more clear” in a formal sentence. Why? Because “clearer” is already the established comparative form. As explained by Garner’s Modern English Usage:
“…if a word ordinarily takes either the -er or the -est suffix–– and that formation sounds more natural–– it’s poor style to use the two-word form with more or most.” (Garner 187)
Comparative adjectives exist to compare two or more objects they modify in a sentence, where one noun is ‘more so’ than the other. For example,
“The dog is small, but the cat is smaller.”
For the sentence above, we compare the size of a dog and cat (two nouns) using the adjective “small.” But since the cat is ‘more small’ than the dog, you would use the comparative “smaller” instead.
As you might have noticed, comparative adjectives typically end adjectives with the suffix -er or -ier such as bigger, cleaner, nicer, or prettier. But when adjectives end with the suffix -est, that means they are in their superlative form.
Similarly to a comparative adjective, a superlative compares one noun against all other nouns as ‘the most’ or the ‘highest form’ of that adjective. For example,
“Linda is the prettiest girl in school.”
For this sentence, we are comparing Linda (a noun) to other girls (nouns) at school. The sentence implies how all of the girls at school are pretty, but since Linda is the “prettiest,” she is the ‘most pretty’ of them all.
Circling back to our original adjective, clear, we write the comparative and superlative forms as such:
There are circumstances when we need to use determiners like ‘more’ or ‘most,’ and that’s when an adjective contains three (sometimes two) or more syllables. For example,
Some adjectives also provide the option of using a comparative and superlative form in addition to “more” or “most” (187). For example:
The word clearer is the comparative form of the adjective “clear.” Additional word forms of “clear” include “clearest” (superlative), “clearly” (adverb), and “clearable” (adjective).
Based on The New Oxford English Dictionary’s definition of clear, we can rephrase the meaning of clearer as:
1. More perceivable, understandable, or interpretable in a way that is more obvious, less unambiguous, and with absolutely no doubt or confusion. For example,
2. More physically transparent. For example,
3. More free of clouds, mist, rain, or haze. For example,
4. Less blemished skin. For example,
5. Freer of any obstructions or unwanted objects, feelings, or conditions. For example,
Apparent, bright, certain, conclusive, clear-cut, crystal, crystalline, decisive, distinct, evident, fair, faultless, free, implicit, luminous, obvious, open, plain, see-through, straightforward, sure, transparent, unambiguous, unambivalent, unmistakable.
Ambiguous, blocked, clogged, clouded, cryptic, dark, doubtful, dubious, equivocal, guilty, hesitant, inconclusive, indecisive, indistinct, mysterious, nonobvious, obscure, stormy, stuffed, unapparent, uncertain, unclarified, unclear, wavering.
According to The American Heritage Dictionary, the word clear comes from Middle English cler via Old French. However, the original source stems from Latin clārus, where it meant ‘clear’ or ‘bright.’
Use comparative “clearer” or superlative “clearest” instead of “more clear” or “most clear.”
Correct:
Incorrect:
Avoid using “less” or “least” with “clearer” or “clearest.” Use “unclear,” “less clear,” or “least clear” instead.
Correct:
Incorrect:
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