vaporous

American  

[vey-per-uhs] / ˈveɪ pər əs /

adjective

1. having the form or characteristics of vapor.

   a vaporous cloud.

2. full of or abounding in vapor; foggy; misty.

   a vaporous twilight.

3. producing or giving off vapor.

   a vaporous bog.

4. dimmed or obscured with vapor.

   a low valley surrounded by vaporous mountains.

5. unsubstantial; diaphanous; airy.

   vaporous fabrics; vaporous breezes.

6. vaguely formed, fanciful, or unreliable.

   vaporous promises.

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vaporous British  

/ ˈveɪpərəs, ˌveɪpəˈrɒsɪtɪ /

adjective

1. resembling or full of vapour

2. another word for vaporific

3. lacking permanence or substance; ephemeral or fanciful

4. given to foolish imaginings

5. dulled or obscured by an atmosphere of vapour

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Other Word Forms

• nonvaporosity
  noun
• nonvaporous
  adjective
• nonvaporously
  adverb
• nonvaporousness
  noun
• unvaporosity
  noun
• unvaporous
  adjective
• unvaporously
  adverb
• unvaporousness
  noun
• vaporosity
  noun
• vaporously
  adverb
• vaporousness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of vaporous

First recorded in 1520–30; vapor + -ous

Explanation

Vaporous means foggy, or made of gas. On a misty morning, the cool, vaporous air by the sea might send you back home for a raincoat. In science, this adjective is used for gases, including the vaporous water detected in the atmosphere of a distant planet, or the invisible swirl of vaporous wax that hovers above a lit candle. When the air feels vaporous, it's either foggy or extremely humid. Something that seems to lack real substance can also be described this way, like your vaporous plan to bike across the U.S., quickly abandoned as you realized how difficult it would be.

Example Sentences

Vaporous Charles II, called to the throne from his nightshirt, wants to purchase the Isle of Blight, a French channel patch.

From Time Magazine Archive

Vaporous, unaccountable, Dreamland lies forlorn of light, Hollow like a breathing shell.

From English Verse Specimens Illustrating its Principles and History by Alden, Raymond MacDonald

Vaporous Westminster, dark and leaning to the great river, for how long he had not seen it, or realized what it meant to him!

From In the Wilderness by Hichens, Robert Smythe