unclear
/ʌnˈklɪɚ/adjective, verb
unclear is spelled U-N-C-L-E-A-R: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 8.5 times per million words in written English, the 7,910th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, unclear means “Ambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in unclear?
| Letters | 7: U-N-C-L-E-A-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 8.5 times per million words; the 7,910th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is unclear?
Unclear appears 8.5 times per million words in written English, the 7,910th 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 unclear?
- UK /ʌnˈklɪə(ɹ)/
- US /ʌnˈklɪɚ/
Unclear has 2 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: En-us-unclear.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with unclear?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as unclear from its last stressed vowel (/ɪəɹ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: nuclear.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of unclear
- unclearer comparative
- more unclear comparative
- unclearest superlative
- most unclear superlative
- unclears present, singular, he/she/it
- unclearing participle, present
- uncleared participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does unclear mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Ambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation.
The remark she made comparing her life with that of a fish was unclear.
- 2
Not clearly or explicitly defined.
- 3
Not easy to see or read; indecipherable or unreadable.
From such a long distance away, the name on the signpost was unclear.
- 4
Not having a clear idea; uncertain.
I'm still unclear about what she meant by that remark.
verb
- 1
rareTo undo the process of clearing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Unclear in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | unklar, unübersichtlich , undeutlich |
| Portuguese | confuso |
| Spanish | ambiguo, equívoco, poco claro, confuso |
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 unclear come from?
From Middle English unclere, equivalent to un- + clear. Compare Saterland Frisian uunkloor (“unclear”), West Frisian ûnklear (“inoperative, broken”), Dutch onklaar (“out of order, defective, broken”), German unklar (“unclear”), Danish uklar (“unclear”), Swedish oklar (“unclear”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).