overcast sky
3
2.5
- noun
- /ˈoʊvərˌkæst skaɪ/
:
cielo nublado
- Overcast skies today, folks, with an expected high of 55 degrees and some showers expected later in the afternoon.
- overcast sky and rain
- gray overcast sky
- a dull overcast sky
Examples
-
Out the kitchen window, the gray, overcast sky seemed to mirror the fog in her brain.
Fiction book (1999) -
Even an overcast sky might take on a subtle, yet surreal, cast during twilight.
Academic text (2000) -
I turned my face to the overcast sky.
Fiction book (1998) -
Because of the overcast sky, the woods were dark and lonely.
Fiction book (2002) -
I have to admit that with the overcast sky, sometimes the color contrast is just amazing.
Blog text (22) -
Beneath an overcast sky, it was already twilight.
Fiction book (1996) -
An overcast sky dimmed the moonlight as she began her familiar three-block journey home.
Fiction book (2000) -
The oaks were thick around the house, still shedding piles of leaves, and the afternoon was dark under an overcast sky.
Fiction book (2002) -
As we waited there under leaden overcast skies, I began to envy that cap and the heavy black shoes with thick gum soles.
Fiction book (1994) -
On April 8, we awoke to a completely overcast sky spitting rain.
Synonyms
15
3.4
The amount of sky covered by clouds
2
2.1
Sky covered with clouds so it is not bright
1
2.5
A sky completely covered with clouds that looks dim and gray
Antonyms
How Cloudy
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines 'overcast' (cloud-covered, dull) with 'sky' (the atmosphere overhead), so its meaning 'a sky completely covered with clouds' is directly derivable from the constituents. This compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically and would be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
The noun overcast sky comes from the simple image of clouds covering the whole sky. The word overcast means 'covered over' by clouds, so the phrase describes a sky with no direct sunlight.