adverb
clean
To the fullest extent.
The arrow passes clean through the thin cardboard target.
Etymology
Old English clǣne expressed purity or clearness. The adverbial sense carries the idea of nothing left mixed in or remaining, so an action is complete or goes entirely through.
More examples
- I clean forgot our appointment.
- The gust blew his hat clean off.
- Her name went clean out of my head.
Forms
clean
Similar words
- completely
- The usual neutral adverb for full extent.
- entirely
- Entirely is neutral rather than the emphatic informal adverb clean.