Is it redundant to say that something is "clearly evident"?
Here's a sentence: "The volume of resources invested is clearly evident."
Is this redundant?
Solution 1:
Yes, it is redundant.
The volume of resources invested is clear.
means the same thing basically as:
The volume of resources invested is evident.
However, redundancies can be (and are) used for strengthening an expression.
According to Wikipedia:
the term "redundancy" tends to have a negative connotation and may be perceived as improper because of its use of duplicative or unnecessary wording... however, it remains a linguistically valid way of placing emphasis on some expressed idea. Through the use of repetition of certain concepts, redundancy increases the odds of predictability of a message's meaning and understanding to others.
It goes on to give commonly used examples: a variety of different items, an added bonus, to over-exaggerate, end result, free gift", future plans, unconfirmed rumor, past history (one memorialized in medicine as "Past Medical History"), safe haven, potential hazard, completely surrounded, false pretense, and so on.
So though it's redundant, it does not mean it's not a useful and acceptable way to express an idea more clearly.
Solution 2:
Not at all. Something may be merely evident, or it may be clearly evident. "Clearly evident" may be the same as "obvious" but "evident" is not necessarily obvious.
I don't know why we cannot have degrees of evident.
Solution 3:
The Latin roots suggest that something which is evident should always be able to be seen clearly ("obvious to the eye or mind"). In the example sentence given, the word "clearly" is redundant, but in a comparison one conclusion could be more clearly evident than another.
That being said, the phrase "clearly evident" does have some usage.
See Ngram.
Other sources:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/evident
https://www.google.com/search?q=define%3Aevident
Solution 4:
That specific word choice does appear redundant, however, people who use that phrase don't intend to say the same thing twice, but rather put a qualifier on the word evident.
People who use this phrase likely mean something more like "abundantly evident" or "abundantly clear".
Wanting to be literal about the phrase "clearly evident," perhaps someone actually means to say that not only is the item evident, but the fact that it is evident is clear. It would be like saying "It was made obvious on purpose and that can be easily seen."
Either way, the message is the same: "There can be no mistake except by negligence."