Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
verb (used with object), clar·i·fied, clar·i·fy·ing.
- to make (an idea, statement, etc.) clear or intelligible; to free from ambiguity.
- to remove solid matter from (a liquid); to make into a clear or pellucid liquid.
- to free (the mind, intelligence, etc.) from confusion; revive: The short nap clarified his thoughts.
verb (used without object), clar·i·fied, clar·i·fy·ing.
- to become clear, pure, or intelligible: The political situation clarified.
verb -fies, -fying or -fied
- to make or become clear or easy to understand
- to make or become free of impurities
- to make (fat, butter, etc) clear by heating, etc, or (of fat, etc) to become clear as a result of such a process
1610s, “act of clearing or refining” (especially of liquid substances), from French clarification, from Late Latin clarificationem (nominative clarificatio), noun of action from past participle stem of clarificare (see clarify). The meaning “statement revising or expanding an earlier statement but stopping short of a correction” is attested by 1969, originally in newspapers.
early 14c., “make illustrious, make known,” from Old French clarifiier “clarify, make clear, explain” (12c.), from Late Latin clarificare “to make clear,” also “to glorify,” from Latin clarificus “brilliant,” from clarus “clear, distinct” (see clear (adj.)) + root of facere “to make, do” (see factitious).
Meaning “make clear, purify” is from early 15c. in English; intransitive sense of “grow or become clear” is from 1590s. Figurative sense of “to free from obscurity” is from 1823. Related: Clarified; clarifying.