clean and fairly share a recorded sense, so the question is not what they mean but which one fits. clean means “free from dirt or impurities; or having clean habits”. fairly means “to certain extent or degree”. clean is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈklin/
1.adj.free from dirt or impurities; or having clean habits
“children with clean shining faces”
2.adj.free of restrictions or qualifications
“a clean bill of health”
3.adj.(of sound or color) free from anything that dulls or dims
“efforts to obtain a clean bass in orchestral recordings”
/ˈfɛɹli/
1.adv.to certain extent or degree
“pretty big”
2.adv.without favoring one party, in a fair evenhanded manner
“deal fairly with one another”
3.adv.in conformity with the rules or laws and without fraud or cheating
“they played fairly”
| clean | fairly | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈklin/ | /ˈfɛɹli/ |
| Said | kleen | FER-lee |
| Syllables | 1 | 2 |
| Letters | 5 | 6 |
| Parts of speech | adjective, verb, adverb, noun | adverb |
| Senses | 31 | 3 |
| How common | Core | Common |
| Synonyms | none recorded | reasonably, moderately, pretty |
Full entry for clean · Full entry for fairly · More comparisons