Caliginous

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /kəˈlɪdʒɪnəs/

Definitions

1. Obscured by mist or darkness, or mentally confused and difficult to perceive clearly
2. dim and murky as if veiled by fog or haze, or mentally clouded and hard to comprehend
3. shrouded in darkness or mist creating obscurity, or characterized by confusion that impedes clear understanding

Etymology: Caliginous is a Latin word at heart, built from "cālīgō" (fog, mist, gloom) and the suffix "-ōsus," which turns a noun into an adjective meaning "full of" or "prone to." So the word is literally "full of fog," and English kept that sense intact: a caliginous morning is one thick with mist, and a caliginous mind is one clouded with confusion. The English word most likely arrived by way of Middle French "caligineux," meaning "misty" or "obscure," though it may have been taken straight from Latin "cālīginōsus." Either route brings the same picture of darkness that thickens into haze, a sense that the Latin root "cālīgō" carried from classical times.

Synonyms: dark, dim, gloomy, shadowy, murky

Antonyms: bright, clear, luminous, radiant, shiny