clarification

1 an interpretation that removes obstacles to understanding; "the professor's clarification helped her to understand the textbook" [syn: elucidation, illumination]

2 the act of removing solid particles from a liquid [syn: clearing]

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eɪʃǝn

Noun

1. The act of clarifying; the act or process of making clear or transparent by freeing visible impurities; particularly, the clearing or fining of liquid substances from feculent matter by the separation of the insoluble particles which prevent the liquid from being transparent.

   The clarification of wine.

2. The act of freeing from obscurities.

   Your ideas deserve clarification.

Quotations

• 1627: Sir Francis Bacon, Sylva Sylvarum: Or a Natural History in Ten Centuries

  To know the means of accelerating clarification [in liquors] we must know the causes of clarification.

Related terms

• clarifier
• clarify

References

In newspapering, a clarification is used to make a statement in a published story more clear. It refers to a statement in a story that, while factually correct, may be subject to a misunderstanding or unfair assumption.

For instance, a published story about teacher layoffs states that the superintendent filed notice of termination for the affected staff. Although that statement is factually correct as printed, it may lead to the assumption that the teachers were fired that night. A statement — in this case, the clarification — may be required stating that the teachers then have time to appeal their dismissal before the termination takes effect.

A clarification is not the same as a correction, which corrects factual errors in a published story. As with corrections, the policy for reporting statements which need to be made more clear varies with the newspaper, but usually involves the reader calling an editor and pointing out the offending comments.

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