as in illuminating
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Dissimilar Words
1
as in filtering
to remove usually visible impurities from
clarify the melted butter by skimming off the milky bits
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in explaining
to make plain or understandable
it would help if you could clarify your position for us
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of clarifying
Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 9 Nov. 2025
It’s been very clarifying and really, for lack of a better word, helpful, in framing for us, really, and reminding us what, what this festival is, what is Mr. Redford’s legacy.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2025
And that was a clarifying moment for me in my understanding of their relationship.
—Max Gao, Variety, 29 Aug. 2025
Working at the Taller de Gráfica Popular allowed for a clarifying moment of vision, one that drove her work—politically and artistically—for the rest of her life.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
But this was a clarifying moment for me, as the photo’s release validated other information my source had been sharing in recent weeks.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 4 Sep. 2024
Kyle's clarifying questions ultimately yield a few non-clarifying answers.
—Jodi Walker, EW.com, 16 Sep. 2021
The most clarifying political moment of the era came with the 1912 presidential election, when corporate concentration was explicitly on the ballot.
—Zephyr Teachout, Foreign Affairs, 8 Dec. 2020
Daniel Ruetenik, CBS News, 31 Dec. 2025
The death certificates for Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner are clarifying the timeline of their deaths.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Dec. 2025
Messiness is the defining feature, in a way that becomes clarifying.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 22 Dec. 2025
This can be an uncomfortable but clarifying start to the week.
—Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 21 Dec. 2025
Andreatta has since issued statements and videos clarifying and amending her statements.
—Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 17 Dec. 2025
The bill aims to protect small and mid-sized employers from catastrophic claims by clarifying that stop-loss insurance isn’t health insurance.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 12 Dec. 2025
In addition to its cover-up capabilities, the formula is enriched with nourishing ingredients such as allantoin, bakuchiol, and niacinamide that actually target dark spots and, with time (and regular wear), can brighten them while clarifying the complexion.
—Jessie Quinn, StyleCaster, 6 Nov. 2025
The issue of faith and LGBTQ+ issues became part of the mayoral and council campaigns, with both candidates clarifying their views to voters.
—Niraj Warikoo, Freep.com, 5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
As the Virgo Moon arrives November 13 to 15, things get even more introspective, but in the best, most clarifying way.
—Verb
Rather than clarifying events surrounding Epstein's death, the footage appears to complicate the official narrative, and contradicts some prior statements about the prison's surveillance system.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for clarifying
Adjective
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The ultra-cinematic heroics feel too large and dazzling for the material, the classic movie tropes too formulaic, and the illuminating effect of all of it is more mechanical than organic.—
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Molly’s world comes to life in performances from Rob Delaney, Robby Hoffman, Esco Jouléy, Paula Pell, and David Rasche, who turn a show that could come off as cramped and maudlin into a story that feels expansive, joyful, illuminating.—
Verb
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Strategically using dimmers, light-filtering and -blocking window coverings, and temperature-changing light sources also offer sensory support.—
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Winds will remain gusty throughout Saturday, with drier air filtering in behind the front.—
Verb
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The dispute was resolved after Singh agreed to provide additional context, explaining that the files were collaborative documents shared among participants through the messaging app Signal.—
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Scanning them launches video tutorials explaining what each product does — without forcing customers to ask questions in a store.—
Adjective
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The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy.—
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There is a video-game quality to this format, if the game’s ratio of action to onscreen explanatory text were, say, one to five.—
Verb
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But extracting them and refining them is the difficult part.—
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To find marginal gains in performance and stand out from an increasingly homogenous field of super shoes, brands are looking beyond refining the fundamentals.—
Verb
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Wisteria is a light, calming shade of purple that feels fitting for illustrating any garden.—
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The Jayhawks would go onto win 38-21, with that particular drive illustrating the dominance of Kansas’ ground game Saturday.—
Verb
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While heavy crude oil is what is predominantly being drilled for today, its viscous consistency and high levels of metals and sulfur mean extracting and refining this product is significantly more costly than its light crude counterpart.—
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To achieve the effect of Alma extracting the worm from Elvira’s mouth, Foldberg and his team created several silicone worm pieces and then fed them through a contraption attached to the side of Myren’s face.—
Verb
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One do-it-yourselfer demonstrating step-by-step how to rewire an electrical outlet via a TikTok video replaces thousands of dads and grandpas who could do the same thing.—
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In the videos, opposing factions demonstrating across the country rallied around chants in support of and opposition to the Iranian government.—
Cite this Entry
“Clarifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clarifying. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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