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unclearness

unclearness

7.7
A situation when something is hard to understand
  • noun
  • /ʌnˈklɪrnəs/
translation icon : falta de claridad
  • Her unclearness of thought during the meeting led to misunderstandings among the team members.

Examples

  • The unclearness of the instructions made it challenging for the students to complete the assignment.

  • There was a prevailing idea that most of the difficulty, unsatisfactoriness, and disorder of philosophy was attributable to obscurity, unclearness, and consequently confusion.

    Academic text (2001)
  • The report suffered from unclearness, making it hard to determine the main conclusions.

Synonyms

confusion
vsunclearness
389 1.8

A time when things are not organized and people do not know what to think or do

describes unclear meaning itself rather than a confused mental state
ambiguity
vsunclearness
57 6.3

A lack of clear meaning that allows people to understand it in different ways

is the single idea of being hard to understand rather than multiple meanings
haze
vsunclearness
16 6.2

A state of confusion when your thoughts feel unclear

refers to unclear meaning generally rather than the personal mental state
vagueness
vsunclearness
8 6.1

Lack of clear or exact meaning that makes things hard to understand

is the wider condition of being hard to understand rather than just vague
incoherence
vsunclearness
5 7.3

Speech or writing that is unclear and hard to follow

focuses on unclear meaning generally rather than disordered expression
opacity
vsunclearness
2 8.3

How hard something is to understand because it is unclear

highlights general lack of clarity rather than the source of obscurity
incomprehensibility
vsunclearness
1 9.9

A state where something is very hard to understand

is a broader term for being hard to understand without extreme finality
murkiness
vsunclearness
1 6.7

Unclear or hidden information that is hard to understand

is the broad quality of unclear meaning without implying secrecy
incoherency
vsunclearness
1 7.5

A lack of clear, organized speech or writing that makes it hard to follow

speaks to unclear meaning without insisting on disordered logic
indecipherability
vsunclearness
1 9.9

A difficulty understanding handwriting, signs, or codes

covers general difficulty understanding without implying complete impossibility
abstruseness
vsunclearness
  • Formal
1 9.9

Difficulty understanding something because it is complex or unclear

is the simpler label for general lack of clarity without complexity focus
unclarity
vsunclearness
7.7

Information or speech that is hard to understand and causes confusion

is the same idea expressed in the chosen headword form
obscureness
vsunclearness
8.9

State of being hard to understand

is the general notion of lack of clarity rather than specific obscurity
opaqueness
vsunclearness
  • Formal
8.7

How hard it is to understand something because its meaning is unclear

covers unclear meaning broadly without stressing hidden sources
indefinity
vsunclearness
9.9

The state of being vague or not clear

is about general difficulty understanding rather than imprecise limits
nebulousness
vsunclearness
8.8

A state of being unclear with no definite meaning or edges

is the overall idea of unclear meaning rather than shape or form
nebulosity
vsunclearness
9.9

A state of being unclear and hard to understand

refers more broadly to difficulty understanding than to visual vagueness
abstrusity
vsunclearness
  • Formal
9.9

The quality of being very difficult to understand because it is complex

points to unclear meaning more generally, not necessarily deep complexity
unreadability
vsunclearness
7.7

Writing that is hard to understand or enjoy

applies to unclear meaning in any form, not only written text
confusedness
vsunclearness
6.5

A feeling of not thinking or acting clearly

focuses on the quality of unclear meaning, not the mental condition
indistinctness
vsunclearness
7.0

Lack of clear detail that makes things hard to see or hear

is about unclear meaning and understanding rather than physical blurriness

Antonyms

152 3.0

How easy it is to understand what someone says or writes

1 1.4

How easy something is to understand, for example an explanation

How Clear

transparency
146 3.7
clarity
152 3.0
unclearness
7.7
vagueness
8 6.1
obscurity
5 7.4

Surface Forms

unclearness singular
unclearnesses plural

Morphology

unclearness = unclear (transparent) = un + clear + ness

Formed by standard negation 'un-' plus 'clear', then noun-forming '-ness'; the noun's meaning is directly predictable from 'unclear'.

Etymology

Unclearness is made from un- ('not'), clear ('easy to see or understand'), and -ness (which makes a thing or quality). So unclearness is the 'state of not being clear', which is why it means a difficulty in understanding.