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cloudy

cloudy

9 2.3
Liquid that is not clear and has small particles
  • adjective
  • /ˈklaʊdi/
translation icon : turbio
  • Released into the water, each fluttered down like a lifeless ribbon, exuding a cloudy white liquid.
  • cloudy water

It's like a cream, cloudy, bubbly textured blush.

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Examples

  • A widening band of cloudy ice crept toward the center of the pond.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • The bathwater, the young woman thought, was cloudy with soap.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Look at the blue reflection in the background and see how clear it is in this one and how cloudy it is in this one.

  • First, however, she had picked up another coffee can and spit into it a cloudy brown stream.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • The water container was covered with husks, and the water was very cloudy; I had to change it.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • the water's too cloudy.

  • We walked into the dirty, cloudy, cold river, growing colder as the hot Quentin night went on.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Now, you'll notice that the cornea looks a little cloudy and bluish.

  • They can also become cloudy or Milky if they become exposed to ambient humidity or water and that's called a bloom.

  • The pond's water became cloudy after the heavy rain, making it hard to see the fish below.

Synonyms

muddy
vscloudy
73 1.1

Covered in mud and hard to walk on

is broader, covering liquids made unclear by any suspended particles not only wet earth
milky
vscloudy
68 1.0

Pale white and slightly cloudy like milk

is not limited to pale whiteness and covers many particle causes
hazy
vscloudy
49 3.9

Not clear because of mist or when you cannot remember it well

is about liquid suspension and physical particles not general vagueness or memory
misty
vscloudy
35 1.4

Covered with thin cloud near the ground or not clear in memory

is about liquid unclearness from suspended particles rather than airborne droplets
murky
vscloudy
23 3.7

A liquid that is dark and cloudy because it has dirt in it

is more neutral about liquid being unclear and does not stress darkness
foggy
vscloudy
3 1.4

Not clear or easy to remember

is specific to liquid opacity from particles rather than visual airborne blur
turbid
vscloudy
1 8.1

A liquid that is cloudy because small pieces float in it

is the general term for liquids made opaque by suspended particles

Antonyms

866 1.0

Free from things that block sight or movement

54 3.2

Clear enough to see things behind it, like glass

How Clear

clear
866 1.0
cloudy
9 2.3
turbid
1 8.1
opaque
1 4.7

Surface Forms

cloudy positive

Morphology

cloudy = cloud (transparent) = cloud + y

The sense for liquids is a metaphorical extension of 'cloud' (i.e., made like a cloud) via the same productive suffix '-y', which learners can plausibly infer.

Etymology

The word cloudy uses the same parts cloud + -y; when tiny bits float in water they look like little clouds inside the liquid. So, cloudy means 'not clear' because of those floating particles.