clear as crystal

adj

"clear-as-crystal" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“clear as crystal” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
16
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Entirely transparent.

Corpus desk

Index EN-clear-as-crystal · clear as crystal · English

clear as crystal · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 16 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for clear as crystal
PropertyValue
Headwordclear as crystal
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters16
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “clear as crystal” in English

clear as crystalfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

clear as crystal is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

clear as crystal doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English clere as cristel. The correct English form is clear as crystal, spelled C-L-E-A-R- -A-S- -C-R-Y-S-T-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Entirely transparent.
  2. 2
    Easily understandable.

Etymology

From Middle English clere as cristel.

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "clear as crystal"?
"clear as crystal" is spelled C-L-E-A-R- -A-S- -C-R-Y-S-T-A-L.
What does "clear as crystal" mean?
As an adjective, "clear as crystal" means: Entirely transparent.
What is the origin of the word "clear as crystal"?
From Middle English clere as cristel. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list