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Glite Dictionary
🧑‍💼 Neat appearance ✂️ Clearly defined
clean-cut

clean-cut

3 4.0
With sharp edges and clear lines
  • adjective
  • /ˈklinˌkʌt/
: nítido
  • And so we don't really have a clear clean cut answer.

And so I think that as a world, we like a very black and white clean cut, you know, good, bad.

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Examples

  • Putting them all together is what gives you the sharp-edged, clean-cut look that a lot of men lack in their day-to-day lives.

    Blog text (17)

  • He always maintained a clean-cut appearance, which made him look professional at work.

  • And so I think that as a world, we like a very black and white clean cut, you know, good, bad.

    Lex Fridman

  • It was a clean-cut case of self-defense.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Now it's not clean cut, but there's still temples aren't as as crazy and ruthless as they bought back in the day.

    Anything Goes With James English

  • Unconvinced, they told him they would have preferred a nicer, more clean-cut version of the "poor child," perhaps one that looked like the Little Flower of Jesus at the Cathedral.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The suspect's alibi was a clean-cut version of events that left no room for doubt.

  • The design of the new smartphone features a clean-cut style that is both modern and elegant.

Synonyms

plain
vsclean-cut
335 1.0

Easy to see or understand

is more about neat defined appearance than simple obviousness
clean
vsclean-cut
131 3.6

Done with skill and no mistakes

focuses instead on visible neatness rather than execution quality
defined
vsclean-cut
82 3.2

Easy to see because it has clear edges and shape

focuses more on overall neat appearance than just edges
clear
vsclean-cut
54 1.0

Pure and distinct in sound or colour

is about distinct appearance in shape or edge rather than purity
sharp
vsclean-cut
48 1.3

Easily seen or heard with clear detail

stresses crisp appearance that makes items easy to distinguish
clear-cut
vsclean-cut
45 4.2

Easy to see and understand

is about visual or appearance clarity rather than general decision certainty
crystal clear
vsclean-cut
  • Informal
41 2.5

Very easy to understand or hear

is similar but the emphasis is on distinct appearance rather than intensity
crisp
vsclean-cut
22 3.5

Clear and sharply defined, easy to see or hear

leans more to general clear appearance than lively sharpness
cut-and-dry
vsclean-cut
16 4.1

Clear and simple, not likely to change

emphasizes unchanging certainty rather than visual or shape clarity
chiseled
vsclean-cut
  • US
14 4.8

Having clear, sharp features like a carved statue

focuses on face or form shaping rather than general visual clarity
razor-sharp
vsclean-cut
3 4.2

Very clear and exact so you can see every small detail

is milder meaning clearly defined but not extreme precision
as sharp as a razor-blade
vsclean-cut
5.0

Very clear and exact so there is no doubt

expresses clear appearance more directly but less figurative

Antonyms

vague
229 4.6

Not clear or detailed so you are unsure what is meant

blurred
29 3.4

Not clear to see or understand, like a photo

How Clear

sharp
48 1.3
clean-cut
3 4.0
fuzzy
77 3.7
blurry
72 3.6

Surface Forms

clean-cut positive

Morphology

clean-cut = clean + cut (transparent) = clean + cut

The sense 'sharply defined, clear' is a direct extension of 'clean' + 'cut' (neatly/precisely cut), so it is inferable from the components.

Etymology

Clean-cut joins clean ('clear') and cut ('a sharp edge'), giving the picture of something 'neatly cut out' with a clear shape, like a shadow or the lines of a sculpture. So, clean-cut means sharply defined and easy to see.