Cloudy

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈklaʊdi/

Definitions

1. Describes weather or a liquid that is not clear, with visible particles or water vapor making it difficult to see through
2. Covered in or obscured by clouds, resulting in reduced sunlight; lacking clarity or brightness, often appearing murky or foggy
3. Marked by the presence of clouds that block direct sunlight; appearing dull or blurred due to suspended particles or moisture

Etymology: The most surprising fact here is that "cloudy" once meant "stony" or "rocky." Its Old English ancestor, "clūdiġ," described rough, rocky ground, and that sense survived into Middle English alongside the meanings "hilly" and "gloomy, dark." The sky sense was a later drift, not the original picture. The word is built from "cloud" plus the suffix "-y," which means "full of" or "having the qualities of," so something cloudy is full of cloud. Old English "clūd" meant a hill or rock mass before it came to mean a gathering of vapor in the air. Both senses share a root, so the older meaning of a rough mass of rock is the same idea that later became a mass of vapor.

Synonyms: overcast, hazy, foggy, murky, dim

Antonyms: clear, bright, sunny, luminous, radiant