cloudy
- 01 A2 Elementary
when the sky is full of clouds and you cannot see the sun clearly.
characterised by a sky covered with clouds; having little or no sunshine.
Simple“It was a cloudy morning, so we decided to bring our umbrellas just in case.”
In context“The forecast predicts a cloudy afternoon with intermittent drizzle, which may impact the visibility for the outdoor photography session.”
- 02 B1 Intermediate
describing a liquid or glass that you cannot see through clearly.
lacking transparency or clarity; containing sediment or particles that make a substance opaque.
Simple“The water in the fish tank looked cloudy and needed to be changed.”
In context“The chemist noted that the solution became cloudy upon the addition of the reagent, indicating the formation of a precipitate.”
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
not clear in meaning or difficult to understand.
metaphorically unclear, confused, or lacking in definition.
Simple“His memory of the accident was a bit cloudy because it happened so fast.”
In context“The legal implications of the new contract remain cloudy, as several clauses appear to contradict existing employment regulations.”
- 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
relating to services or data stored on the internet instead of a local computer.
pertaining to cloud computing environments or services hosted on remote servers.
Simple“Our company is moving toward a more cloudy setup to save money on servers.”
In context“The startup's infrastructure is entirely cloudy, allowing them to scale their operations rapidly without investing in physical hardware.”
UsageOften used as a casual shorthand for 'cloud-based'.
Teacher's tipThis is a relatively modern, informal usage; in professional technical writing, 'cloud-based' or 'cloud-native' is preferred.
Synonymscloud basedAntonymslocalon premise
From Middle English cloudy (“cloudy, overcast, gloomy, dark", also "hilly, rocky”), from Old English clūdiġ (“stony, rocky”), equivalent to cloud + -y.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.