clean-cut

Meanings

1. 1adjectivecomparableapproving

   Tidy, neatly groomed and conventional in looks, giving an impression of being wholesome and respectable.

   Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb: a clean-cut young man; he looks clean-cut.

   Patterns

   • a clean-cut young man
   • look clean-cut

   The interviewer looked clean-cut, with a pressed shirt and short hair.

   A clean-cut boy from the neighborhood mowed our lawn.

   They were hoping for a clean-cut hero in the film.

2. 2adjectivebefore a noun

   Having clear, sharp edges or a simple, definite shape.

   Grammar: Used before a noun, often for something carved or designed.

   Patterns

   • clean-cut lines
   • a clean-cut edge

   The sculpture has clean-cut lines and no decoration.

   The knife left a clean-cut edge in the wood.

   The building's clean-cut design is easy to recognize.

3. 3adjectivebefore a noun

   Free of doubt or confusion, so that the answer is clear.

   Grammar: Often appears before nouns like case or answer; often used in negative form: not clean-cut.

   Patterns

   • a clean-cut answer
   • a clean-cut case

   It was a clean-cut case with no disagreement.

   The result was not clean-cut, so they ran the test again.

   There is no clean-cut solution to this problem.

Common combinations

clean-cut image

The singer worked hard to keep a clean-cut image.

clean-cut appearance

His clean-cut appearance helped him in interviews.

clean-cut young man

A clean-cut young man held the door for us.

clean-cut hero

The film's clean-cut hero never swore.

clean-cut answer

There is no clean-cut answer to that question.

Synonyms and how they differ

wholesome

Wholesome focuses on moral goodness and health, while clean-cut focuses on a neat appearance.

neat

Neat just means tidy, and it does not carry the conventional, respectable feel of clean-cut.

well-groomed

Well-groomed describes care in hair and clothing, but clean-cut adds the sense of a conventional character.

straitlaced

Straitlaced means strict and prim, which is more critical than clean-cut.

Opposites

Word family

clean adjective

free from dirt

cut verb

to divide with a blade

cleanly adverb

in a neat, tidy way

Commonly confused: clean-cut or clear-cut?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “clean-cut”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words