Clarify and Specify

Clarify

Clarify verb - To make plain or understandable.

Usage example: it would help if you could clarify your position for us

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Specify and clarify are semantically related in clear up topic. In some cases you can use "Specify" instead a verb "Clarify".

Specify verb - To make reference to or speak about briefly but specifically.

Usage example: police reports didn't specify the model of car the robbers were driving

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Clarify and specify are semantically related in clear up topic. Sometimes you can use "Clarify" instead a verb "Specify".

part	clarify part	specify part
kind	clarify kind	specify kind
reason	clarify reason	specify reason
time	clarify time	specify time
Other words: way, difference, song, points, concepts.

This causes a sticky situation later and Cleo has to clarify that she didn't specify whose great army would fall.

Source: Prophecy Twist
Later versions clarify (slightly) by having him specify, "Sell me the contents of a bottle".

Source: He Knows About Timed Hits

Cite this Source

Specify and Clarify. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/clarify/specify

Clarify & Specify. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/clarify/specify>.

Specify or Clarify. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/clarify/specify.

Google Ngram Viewer shows how "clarify" and "specify" have occurred on timeline