Haze

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /heɪz/

Definitions

1. A thin layer of mist, smoke, or dust in the air that reduces visibility and creates a cloudy appearance
2. A weather condition involving fine particles suspended in the atmosphere that obscures vision and can induce a feeling of vagueness
3. A state of the air that diminishes clarity due to suspended particles ; a mental condition marked by uncertainty and lack of clarity

Etymology: The noun "haze" is first recorded in the latter part of the 17th century, and its origins are uncertain. One possibility is that it is a back-formation from "hazy," meaning that speakers worked backward from the adjective to create the noun, much as one might reason from "hazy" to a thing that is hazy. Dictionaries also point to a link with the Old English "hasu," meaning "gray," and the Old Norse "höss," which carries the same sense, suggesting a family of words tied to dull, grayish color. A second, more dramatic possibility connects it to a verb "hawze," meaning "terrify, frighten, or confound," which may come from the Middle French "haser," meaning "irritate or annoy." If that is right, the word's first sense would have been less about a veil of fog and more about a state of confusion or alarm. The link is possible but not certain, and the two theories point in very different directions.

Synonyms: fog, mist, smog, cloud, blur

Antonyms: clarity, clearness, brightness, transparency, lucidity