cloud over
phr. v..phr. v.. to become covered with clouds, or to look sad or worried suddenly.
phr. v.. to become overcast with clouds; figuratively, to exhibit a sudden change in facial expression reflecting sadness, anger, or anxiety.
The sky began to cloud over before the rain started.
His face clouded over when he heard the news about the job cuts.
Although the morning began with brilliant sunshine, the horizon soon clouded over, signaling a shift in the local weather patterns.
- Particles
- over
- Separability
- inseparable
- Pattern
- cloud + over
can be used literally for weather or figuratively for a person's mood or expression.
use the weather meaning as a visual anchor to explain the figurative meaning of a person's face 'darkening' with emotion.
The sky clouded over of gray.The sky clouded over.this phrasal verb is intransitive and does not take a direct object or a prepositional phrase starting with 'of'.