Synonyms clear
clear ▪ obvious ▪ apparent ▪ evident ▪ plain
These words all describe something that is easy to see or understand.
clear easy to see or understand and leaving no doubts:
It was quite clear to me that she was lying.
obvious easy to see or understand:
It’s obvious from what he said that something is wrong.
It was apparent from her face that she was really upset.
evident (rather formal) easy to see or understand:
The orchestra played with evident enjoyment.
plain easy to see or understand:
He made it very plain that he wanted us to leave.
which word?
These words all have almost exactly the same meaning. There are slight differences in register and patterns of use. If you make something clear/plain, you do so deliberately because you want people to understand something; if you make something obvious, you usually do it without meaning to:
I hope I make myself obvious.
Try not to make it so clear/plain.
In the expressions clear majority, for obvious reasons, for no apparent reason and plain to see, none of the other words can be used instead. You can have a clear/an obvious/a plain case of something but not:
an evident case of something
.
Patterns
clear/obvious/apparent/evident/plain to somebody/something
clear/obvious/apparent/evident/plain that/what/who/how/where/why…
to seem/become/make something clear/obvious/apparent/evident/plain
perfectly/quite/very clear/obvious/apparent/evident/plain