crystal clear
"crystal-clear" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“crystal clear” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Completely clear (in various senses).
Corpus desk
Index EN-crystal-clear · crystal clear · English
crystal clear · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 13 letters
- VOW-4 4 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | crystal clear |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “crystal clear” in English
Rare enough to double-check
crystal clear is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for crystal clear in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, 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 cristal cleer. Emphatic form of clear in visual and metaphorical “understandable” senses. Compare clear as a bell (“very clear (of sound)”). The correct English form is crystal clear, spelled C-R-Y-S-T-A-L- -C-L-E-A-R.
Definition
- 1Completely clear (in various senses).
- 2Completely clear (in various senses).
- 3Completely clear (in various senses).
- 4Completely clear (in various senses).
- 5Completely clear (in various senses).
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how crystal clear appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Reread through the manual until the instructions are crystal clear in your head.
Is it not crystal clear, then, comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings?
Etymology
From Middle English cristal cleer. Emphatic form of clear in visual and metaphorical “understandable” senses. Compare clear as a bell (“very clear (of sound)”).
This word in other languages
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.