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Glite Dictionary
to film over

to film over

1 7.3
To become covered with a thin layer that makes eyes or glass look cloudy
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : nublarse
  • I could see it perfectly—that dull gray eye with an ugly film over it chilled my bones.
  • eyes film over

Examples

  • The milky white film over its eyes faded, then returned, glowed bright crimson like the scales, then turned white once more.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Her eyelids felt heavy as her vision began to film over from exhaustion.

  • His eyes film over with the hot relief of tears.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The colonel's left eye was filmed over with blood, making half the world red.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • One of his eyes was like a vulture's pale blue, with a film over it.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • You wake up with all that black stuff in the corner of your eye, and it feels like you have a thick film over your cornea.

    Blog text (17)

  • Bb's chocolate eyes filmed over with a slightly milky glaze.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • When he praised Marianne for her "tireless spirit of optimism" in the Co-op, I saw my sister's eyes film over with tears of gratitude.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • He had the eye of a vulture—a pale blue eye, with a film over it.

    Academic text (1997)

  • His eyes film over with the hot relief of tears.

Synonyms

to blur
vsto film over
20 3.7

To lose focus so that things look unclear

is when a thin surface layer forms and makes sight dim and dull
to glaze over
vsto film over
11 5.3

Eyes look shiny and unfocused when a person is tired or bored

is a physical thin layer on eyes that dulls brightness instead
to glass over
vsto film over
1 6.8

Eyes or face become dull and show no expression

is a thin covering on surfaces that makes vision less bright and clear
to haze over
vsto film over
5.3

Look less clear as if covered by a thin mist

is a thin surface coating that reduces brightness and sharpness of sight

Antonyms

clarity
152 3.0

How easy it is to understand what someone says or writes

brightness
41 1.0

How much light something gives or how close it looks to white

How Cloudy

to fog up
5 2.8
to film over
1 7.3
to mist
3 3.1

Surface Forms

film over infinitive
filmed over past
filmed over past participle
filming over present participle
films over third person singular

Morphology

film + over

The meaning 'to become covered with a thin layer' is directly derivable from 'film' (a thin sheet) combined with 'over' (covering/above), so a learner who knows both words can infer the result of being covered. This compositional pattern (X + over = covered by X) is common and cross-linguistically transparent, making the expression accessible to B1 learners.

Etymology

Film over comes from the image of a thin film spreading over a surface, like the cloudy layer on old milk or a film on the eye. So when something 'films over' it becomes covered and looks 'blurry' or 'less clear'.