clearest

1. 1
   adjective

   Superlative of clear.

   The mountain air offered the clearest view of the valley below.

   Of all the explanations he tried, the last one was the clearest by far.

   Note

   Like most short adjectives, clear forms its superlative with -est rather than with most. It carries every sense of clear: the clearest water is the most transparent, the clearest sky the least clouded, and the clearest explanation the easiest to follow. The same spelling also belongs to the archaic verb form, so in thou clearest it is a verb, not a comparison.

2. 2
   verbarchaic

   Second-person singular simple present indicative of clear.

   Note

   Here -est is a verb ending, the one that once went with thou: thou clearest the field, thou clearest thy name. It now appears only in quotation, pastiche or deliberately old-fashioned writing, and it always takes thou. With you, the form is plain clear. Every meaning of the verb carries over, from clearing ground of stones to clearing a person of suspicion.

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