haze

¹ American  

[hayz] / heɪz /

noun

• hazes
  plural

1. an aggregation in the atmosphere of very fine, widely dispersed, solid or liquid particles, or both, giving the air an opalescent appearance that subdues colors.

2. vagueness or obscurity, as of the mind or perception; confused or vague thoughts, feelings, etc..

   The victims were still in a haze and couldn't describe the accident.

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verb (used with or without object)

hazed, hazing

1. to make or become hazy.

haze ² American  

[hayz] / heɪz /

verb (used with object)

hazed, hazing

1. to subject (freshmen, newcomers, etc.) to abusive or humiliating tricks and ridicule.

2. Chiefly Nautical. to harass with unnecessary or disagreeable tasks.

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haze ¹ British  

/ heɪz /

noun

1. meteorol

   1. reduced visibility in the air as a result of condensed water vapour, dust, etc, in the atmosphere

   2. the moisture or dust causing this

2. obscurity of perception, feeling, etc

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verb

1. to make or become hazy

haze ² British  

/ heɪz /

verb

1. to subject (fellow students) to ridicule or abuse

2. nautical to harass with humiliating tasks

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haze Idioms  

1. see in a fog (haze).

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Usage

What else does haze mean? Haze is a noun or adjective referring to a type of LSD (acid) or marijuana ... typically purple haze. Hazing, on the other hand, is an initiation ritual where people are subjected to all kinds of cruel and unusual tasks or humiliations.

Synonym Usage

See cloud.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hazer
  noun
• hazeless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hazes
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of haze¹

First recorded in 1700–10; perhaps noun use of unattested Middle English hase; Old English hasu, variant of haswa “ashen, dusky”; see hazy, hare

Origin of haze²

First recorded in 1670–80, haze is from the Middle French word haser to irritate, annoy

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Explanation

Haze is the fog or mist that's caused by small particles in the air. There is often a haze hovering over the city of Los Angeles. Although the noun haze can describe any kind of misty or slightly obscured air, it usually refers to visible air pollution, rather than just fog. You can also talk about being in a haze when you're confused or disoriented. When you hear haze being used as a verb, it usually means to torment a new, young recruit to a club, team, or group — the way fraternity brothers sometimes haze a new member, forcing him to perform humiliating or dangerous actions.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

haze hazes hazed hazing

The law allows authorities to target companies whose activities overseas cause or contribute to unhealthy haze levels in Singapore.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

"But the authorities of both countries have, for the first time, begun talks on how we can work together to tackle the haze, which appears to be getting worse."

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

Indonesia's government says tens of thousands of personnel are fighting the fires, but the air in Palangkaraya remains poisonous, with the haze turning the sky apocalyptic orange in the late afternoon.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

Fires burning for months in Indonesia have sent smoke across the region, and on Thursday East Timor began a three-day school closure prompted by the haze.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

But tonight, as Cullen walked through the haze, there was no one in sight.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

When such atmospheric aerosols are present, the KU researcher said hazes can block the light filtering through the atmosphere.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 2, 2024

Brande and his co-authors took special note of regions where exoplanets tend to form clouds or hazes high up in their atmosphere.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 2, 2024

Those hazes then venture into the dayside, and are vaporized in the heat.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 20, 2023

The dark spot is likely he result of mixing hazes and ices.

From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2023

The morning sun had to burn its red path through low-hanging hazes and clouds of industrial smoke.

From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt

Equally normal, as far as Perales was concerned, was a Detroit skyline hazed by the fume-spewing Marathon petroleum refinery.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 22, 2023

DiNardo said he went so far as to make a team rule against joining fraternities that hazed their pledges.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 20, 2023

Because he didn’t join until the early ‘90s, keyboardist Rubén Valtierra is still considered the “new guy” in the band and gets hazed accordingly.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2022

He was brilliantly hazed by a co-worker who told him, while Bernstein was wearing a beloved cream-colored suit, that he had to “wash” all the staff’s used carbon paper.

From New York Times ● Jan. 5, 2022

The sky hazed over during the afternoon, and the temperature began to drop.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

David Skorton, then-president of Cornell, vowed “to end pledging as we know it,” blaming fraternities’ and sororities’ recruitment process for perpetuating hazing rituals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

National fraternities and many colleges and universities have sought to curb the worst excesses of fraternities by banning hazing, curbing drinking and instituting extensive workshops on consent for incoming first-year students.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

School is back in session, and come spring, rush season will look different: Penn State has put Delta Upsilon on an interim suspension and said it is improving hazing education.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

The kitchen scenes are a combo platter of boot camp, frat house hazing ritual and kung fu movie.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

After the execution, it may have been the reason his secondary school teacher made sure he had food, put a stop to the hazing, and assigned him to an easy job on the pig farm.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden

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