Fine vs Clear - What's the difference?
fine | clear | Synonyms |
(lb) Of subjective quality.
#Of superior quality.
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#*
#*:"A fine man, that Dunwody, yonder," commented the young captain, as they parted, and as he turned to his prisoner. "We'll see him on in Washington some day. He is strengthening his forces now against Mr. Benton out there.."
#(lb) Being acceptable, adequate, passable, or satisfactory.
#:
#*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=3
, passage=Now all this was very fine , but not at all in keeping with the Celebrity's character as I had come to conceive it. The idea that adulation ever cloyed on him was ludicrous in itself. In fact I thought the whole story fishy, and came very near to saying so.}}
#(lb) Good-looking, attractive.
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#*, chapter=10
, title= #Subtle, delicately balanced.
#*The Independent
#*:The fine distinction between lender of last resort and a bail-out
#(lb) Showy; overdecorated.
#*(Matthew Arnold) (1822-1888)
#*:He gratified them with occasionalfine writing.
#Delicate; subtle; exquisite; artful; dexterous.
#*(Alexander Pope) (1688-1744)
#*:The spider's touch, how exquisitely fine !
#*(John Dryden) (1631-1700)
#*:The nicest and most delicate touches of satire consist in fine raillery.
#*(Thomas Gray) (1716-1771)
#*:He has as fine a hand at picking a pocket as a woman.
(lb) Of objective quality.
#Of a particular grade of quality, usually between very good'' and ''very fine'', and below ''mint .
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#(lb) Sunny and not raining.
#*, chapter=23
, title= #Consisting of especially minute particulate; made up of particularly small pieces.
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#Particularly slender; especially thin, narrow, or of small girth.
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#Made of slender or thin filaments.
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#Having a (specified) proportion of pure metal in its composition.
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(lb) Behind the batsman and at a small angle to the line between the wickets.
:
(lb) Subtle; thin; tenuous.
*(Francis Bacon) (1561-1626)
*:The eye standeth in the finer medium and the object in the grosser.
expression of agreement
well, nicely, in a positive way
Fine champagne; French brandy.
* 1926 , Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises , Scribner 2003, p. 14:
* 1936 , Djuna Barnes, Nightwood , Faber & Faber 2007, p. 18:
(usually, in the plural) something that is fine; fine particles
* They filtered silt and fines out of the soil.
to make finer, purer, or cleaner; to purify or clarify.
* Hobbes
to become finer, purer, or cleaner.
To make finer, or less coarse, as in bulk, texture, etc.
To change by fine gradations.
* Browning
to clarify (wine and beer) by filtration.
A fee levied as punishment for breaking the law.
* The fine for jay-walking has gone from two dollars to thirty in the last fifteen years.
* {{quote-book, year=2006, author=
, title=Internal Combustion
, chapter=2 To issue a fine as punishment to (someone).
* She was fined a thousand dollars for littering, but she appealed.
To pay a fine.
* Hallam
(music) The end of a musical composition.
(music) The location in a musical score that indicates the end of the piece, particularly when the piece ends somewhere in the middle of the score due to a section of the music being repeated.
(obsolete) To finish; to cease.
(obsolete) To cause to cease; to stop.
(obsolete) End; conclusion; termination; extinction.
* Spenser
* Shakespeare
A final agreement concerning lands or rents between persons, as the lord and his vassal.
(UK, legal) A sum of money or price paid for obtaining a benefit, favor, or privilege, as for admission to a copyhold, or for obtaining or renewing a lease.
(Webster 1913)
Transparent in colour.
Bright, not dark or obscured.
Free of obstacles.
* , chapter=1
, title= Without clouds.
*
(lb) Of the sky, such that less than one eighth of its area is obscured by clouds.
Free of ambiguity or doubt.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-08, volume=407, issue=8839, page=52, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= Distinct, sharp, well-marked.
(lb) Free of guilt, or suspicion.
* (Alexander Pope) (1688-1744)
(lb) Without a thickening ingredient.
Possessing little or no perceptible stimulus.
(lb) Free from the influence of engrams; see .
Able to perceive clearly; keen; acute; penetrating; discriminating.
* (John Milton) (1608-1674)
Not clouded with passion; serene; cheerful.
* (William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
Easily or distinctly heard; audible.
* (Alexander Pope) (1688-1744)
Unmixed; entirely pure.
Without defects or blemishes, such as freckles or knots.
Without diminution; in full; net.
* (Jonathan Swift) (1667–1745)
All the way; entirely.
Not near something or touching it.
free (or separate) from others
* {{quote-news
, year=2010
, date=December 29
, author=Chris Whyatt
, title=Chelsea 1 - 0 Bolton
, work=BBC
(obsolete) In a clear manner; plainly.
* (rfdate) (Milton)
*
*
*
*
*
(lb) To remove obstructions or impediments from.
*1715–8 , (Matthew Prior), “Alma: or, The Progre?s of the Mind” in Poems on Several Occa?ions (1741), canto III,
*:Faith, Dick, I mu?t confe?s, ?tis true // (But this is only Entre Nous ) // That many knotty Points there are, // Which All di?cu?s, but Few can clear .
*(Joseph Addison) (1672–1719)
*:A statue lies hid in a block of marble; and the art of the statuary only clears away the superfluous matter.
*{{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
, chapter=7 *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-29, volume=407, issue=8842, page=29, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= (lb) To become freed from obstructions.
:
*
*:“A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; and she looked it, always trim and trig and smooth of surface like a converted yacht cleared for action. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable,.
(lb) To eliminate ambiguity or doubt from a matter; to clarify; especially, to clear up.
(lb) To remove from suspicion, especially of having committed a crime.
:
*(John Dryden) (1631-1700)
*:Iam sure he will clear me from partiality.
*(Joseph Addison) (1672–1719)
*:Wouldst thou clear rebellion?
(lb) To pass without interference; to miss.
:
(lb) To become clear.
:
(lb) Of a check or financial transaction, to go through as payment; to be processed so that the money is transferred.
:
To earn a profit of; to net.
:
* (1800-1859)
(lb) To obtain permission to use (a sample of copyrighted audio) in another track.
To disengage oneself from incumbrances, distress, or entanglements; to become free.
*1613 , (Francis Bacon), (second edition), essay 18: “
*:Be?ides, he that cleares' at once will relap?e: for finding him?elfe out of ?traights, he will reuert to his cu?tomes. But hee that ' cleareth by degrees, induceth an habite of frugality, and gaineth as well vpon his minde, as vpon his E?tate.
To obtain a clearance.
:
(lb) To defend by hitting (or kicking, throwing, heading etc.) the ball (or puck) from the defending goal.
*{{quote-news, year=2010, date=December 29, author=Chris Whyatt, title=Chelsea 1-0 Bolton
, work=BBC To fell all trees of a forest.
To reset or unset; to return to an empty state or to zero.
:
(carpentry) Full extent; distance between extreme limits; especially; the distance between the nearest surfaces of two bodies, or the space between walls.
Clear is a synonym of fine.
In obsolete terms the difference between fine and clear
is that fine is end; conclusion; termination; extinction while clear is in a clear manner; plainly.In transitive terms the difference between fine and clear
is that fine is to issue a fine as punishment to (someone) while clear is to obtain permission to use (a sample of copyrighted audio) in another track.In intransitive terms the difference between fine and clear
is that fine is to pay a fine while clear is of a check or financial transaction, to go through as payment; to be processed so that the money is transferred.fine
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) fin, from (etyl) .Adjective
(er)The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector's face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers.}}
The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=If the afternoon was fine they strolled together in the park, very slowly, and with pauses to draw breath wherever the ground sloped upward. The slightest effort made the patient cough.}}
Synonyms
* (of superior quality) good, excellent * (informal) (being acceptable, adequate, passable, or satisfactory ): all right, ok, , okay, hunky-dory, kosher * (made up of particularly small pieces) fine-grained, powdered, powdery, pulverised, pulverized, small-grained * (made of slender or thin filaments) fine-threadedAntonyms
* (made up of particularly small pieces) coarse * (made of slender or thin filaments) coarseAdverb
(en adverb)- Everything worked out fine.
Synonyms
* (expression of agreement) all right, alright, OK, very wellNoun
(en noun)- We had dined at l'Avenue's, and afterward went to the Café de Versailles for coffee. We had several fines after the coffee, and I said I must be going.
- He refilled his glass. ‘The fine is very good,’ he said.
Usage notes
Particularly used in plural as fines of ground coffee beans in espresso making.See also
* filingVerb
(fin)- to fine gold
- It hath been fined and refined by learned men.
- to fine the soil
- to fine down a ship's lines, i.e. to diminish her lines gradually
- I often sate at home / On evenings, watching how they fined themselves / With gradual conscience to a perfect night.
Synonyms
* (to make or become finer, purer, or cleaner ): clarify, refine, purifyDerived terms
* chance'd be a fine thing * cut it fine * fine art * fine as frog hair * fine feathers make fine birds * fine-grained * fine leg * fine line * finely * fineness * fine print * fine-structure constant * fine-tooth comb * fine-tune * fine words butter no parsnips * * just fine * to a fine fare-thee-wellEtymology 2
(etyl)Noun
(en noun)citation, passage=The popular late Middle Ages fictional character Robin Hood, dressed in green to symbolize the forest, dodged fines for forest offenses and stole from the rich to give to the poor. But his appeal was painfully real and embodied the struggle over wood.}}
Synonyms
* amercementVerb
- Men fined' for the king's good will; or that he would remit his anger; women ' fined for leave to marry.
Synonyms
* amerceEtymology 3
From (etyl) ("end").Noun
(en noun)Usage notes
This word is virtually never used in speech and therefore essentially confined to musical notation.Derived terms
* da capo al fine=Etymology 4
(etyl) finer, (etyl) finir. See (finish) (transitive verb).Verb
(fin)Noun
(en noun)- to see their fatal fine
- Is this the fine of his fines?
- (Spelman)
Statistics
*Anagrams
* * * English heteronyms English terms with multiple etymologies 1000 English basic words ----clear
English
Alternative forms
* (contraction used in electronics)Adjective
(er)Mr. Pratt's Patients, chapter=1 , passage=Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path
- Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. The clear light of the bright autumn morning had no terrors for youth and health like hers.
The new masters and commanders, passage=From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much.
- Statesman, yet friend to truth! in soul sincere, / In action faithful, and in honour clear .
- Mother of science! now I feel thy power / Within me clear , not only to discern / Things in their causes, but to trace the ways / Of highest agents.
- With a countenance as clear / As friendship wears at feasts.
- Hark! the numbers soft and clear / Gently steal upon the ear.
- I often wished that I had clear , / For life, six hundred pounds a year.
Antonyms
* obscure * (of a soup) thickDerived terms
* as clear as a bell * as clear as day * as clear as mud * clarity * clearly * clearness * crystal clear * free and clear * in the clear * keep a clear head * keep clearAdverb
(-)- I threw it clear across the river to the other side.
- Stand clear of the rails, a train is coming.
citation, page= , passage=Much soul-searching is going on at the west London club who, just seven weeks ago, were five points clear at the top of the table and playing with the verve with which they won the title last season. }}
- Now clear I understand.
Verb
(en verb)p.297:
citation, passage=‘Children crawled over each other like little grey worms in the gutters,’ he said. ‘The only red things about them were their buttocks and they were raw. Their faces looked as if snails had slimed on them and their mothers were like great sick beasts whose byres had never been cleared .
Unspontaneous combustion, passage=Since the mid-1980s, when Indonesia first began to clear' its bountiful forests on an industrial scale in favour of lucrative palm-oil plantations, “haze” has become an almost annual occurrence in South-East Asia. The cheapest way to ' clear logged woodland is to burn it, producing an acrid cloud of foul white smoke that, carried by the wind, can cover hundreds, or even thousands, of square miles.}}
- the profit which she cleared on the cargo
Of Expences”:
citation, passage=Bolton then went even closer when Elmander's cross was met by a bullet header from Holden, which forced a wonderful tip over from Cech before Drogba then cleared the resulting corner off the line.}}
Synonyms
* (clear a forest) stubDerived terms
* clear away * clear off * clear out * clear up * clearance * clearingNoun
(en noun)- a room ten feet square in the clear
