haze

Definition

Very fine solid particles (smoke, dust) or liquid droplets (moisture) suspended in the air, slightly limiting visibility. (Compare fog, mist.)

Etymology

* The earliest instances are of the latter part of the 17th century. * Possibly back-formation from hazy. * Compare Old Norse höss (“grey”), akin to Old English hasu (“gray”).

Example Sentences

• "Our hopes, however, soon vanished; for before eight o'clock, the serenity of the sky was changed into a thick haze, accompanied with rain."
• "A blue haze, half dust, half mist, touched the long valley with mystery."
• "Since the mid-1980s, when Indonesia first began to clear its bountiful forests on an industrial scale in favour of lucrative palm-oil plantations, “haze” has become an almost annual occurrence in South-East Asia."