ENGLISH
REFERENCE

hazy

adj.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈheɪzi// UK //hˈeɪzi// hazy

adj. not clear because of smoke, dust, or heat in the air. It can also describe a memory or idea that is not easy to remember or understand.

adj. characterised by the presence of haze in the atmosphere, reducing visibility. In a figurative sense, it describes mental states or recollections that lack clarity or distinctness.


SIMPLE

The mountains look hazy in the summer heat.

CONTEXTUAL

I have a hazy memory of my first day at school, but I remember the red door.

COMPLEX

The morning was particularly hazy, with a thick layer of smog obscuring the skyline and making the distant skyscrapers appear like ghostly silhouettes.

Synonyms
Origin

From earlier hawsey (1625), a nautical term of uncertain origin. Possibly from Middle English hasi, haswy, from Old English haswiġ (“grey; ashen; dusky”), from Old English hasu (“dusky; grey; ashen”), from Proto-Germanic haswaz (“grey”), from Proto-Indo-European ḱeh₂s- (“bright grey”). By surface analysis, haze + -y; although Modern English haze is more likely a back-formation of hazy.

Usage

Often used predicatively after linking verbs like 'look', 'become', or 'remain'.

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