Skip to main content
PlainSpell

clarify

/ˈklæɹ.ɪ.faɪ/verb

clarify is spelled C-L-A-R-I-F-Y: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 7.1 times per million words in written English, the 8,918th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, clarify means “To make or become clear or bright by freeing from impurities or turbidity” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in clarify?

Letters7: C-L-A-R-I-F-Y
Syllables3 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing7.1 times per million words; the 8,918th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is clarify?

Clarify appears 7.1 times per million words in written English, the 8,918th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce clarify?

  • US /ˈklæɹ.ɪ.faɪ/
  • US /ˈklæɹ.ə.faɪ/
  • US /ˈklɛɹ.ɪ.faɪ/

Clarify has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-clarify.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of clarify

  • clarifies present, singular, he/she/it
  • clarifying participle, present
  • clarified participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does clarify mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To make or become clear or bright by freeing from impurities or turbidity.

    What's the best way to clarify cooking oil?

  2. 2

    To make or become clear or easily understood; to explain or resolve in order to remove doubt or obscurity.

    Please clarify what you mean by this.

  3. 3

    obsoleteTo glorify.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Clarify in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Germanklären ((transitive) to make clear or bright by freeing…), klar werden ((intransitive) to become clear or transparent), klarstellen ((''transitive'') to make clear or easily…), aufklären (to clear up)
Portugueseclarificar ((transitive) to make clear or bright by freeing…), clarear ((intransitive) to become clear or transparent), aclarar ((''transitive'') to make clear or easily…)
Spanishclarificar ((transitive) to make clear or bright by freeing…), aclarar, esclarecer, poner en claro ((''transitive'') to make clear or easily…)
Frenchclarifier ((''transitive'') to make clear or easily…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does clarify come from?

From Middle English clarifien, from Old French clarifiier, from Latin clārificō, clārificāre; clārus (“clear”) + faciō, facere (“make”). Semantically clear + -ify.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after clarify