crystal clear
"crystal-clear" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“crystal clear” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an adjective - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Completely clear (in various senses).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | crystal clear |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “crystal clear” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for crystal clear is 13 letters long, classified as an adjective. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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).
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “crystal clear”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-R-Y-S-T-A-L- -C-L-E-A-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.