hazy

English

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈheɪzi/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪzi

Adjective

hazy (comparative hazier, superlative haziest)

1. Thick or obscured with haze.

   a hazy view of the polluted city street

2. Not clear or transparent.
3. Obscure; confused; not clear.

   a hazy argument

   a hazy intellect

Synonyms

• (thick with haze): hazed; see also Thesaurus:nebulous
• (not clear or transparent): blurry, fuzzy, ill-defined; see also Thesaurus:indistinct
• (obscure, confused): ambiguous, equivocal; see also Thesaurus:vague

Derived terms

• hazily
• haziness

Translations

thick with haze

• Bulgarian: мъглив (bg) (mǎgliv), замъглен (bg) (zamǎglen)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 霾 (zh) (mái), 薄霧／薄雾 (zh) (bówù)

• Dutch: heiig (nl)
• French: brumeux (fr)
• German: dunstig (de), diesig (de)
• Japanese: 霞 (ja) (kasumi)
• Maori: kōruhi (refers to atmosphere), kōrerehu, māhinahina, kaurukiruki, mataauahi, nehunehu
• Norwegian: disig (no)

  Nynorsk: disig

• Occitan: tubós (oc), brumós (oc)
• Spanish: brumoso (es)
• Swedish: disig (sv), dimmig (sv)

not clear or transparent

• Bulgarian: мътен (bg) (mǎten)
• Dutch: wazig (nl), troebel (nl)
• French: flou (fr), trouble (fr), vague (fr), brumeux (fr)
• German: trüb (de)
• Occitan: tubós (oc), brumós (oc), escurós
• Swedish: oklar (sv), suddig (sv)

obscure, confused

• Bulgarian: неясен (bg) (nejasen), смътен (bg) (smǎten)
• Dutch: warrig (nl), verward (nl)
• French: brumeux (fr), obscur (fr)
• German: getrübt (de)
• Occitan: tubós (oc), escurin, escurós, sorn (oc), tenebrós
• Swedish: diffus (sv), suddig (sv), oklar (sv)

Further reading

• “hazy”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “hazy”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• yazh