drizzle

[driz-uh l]

See more synonyms for drizzle on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), driz·zled, driz·zling.

to rain gently and steadily in fine drops; sprinkle: It drizzled throughout the night.
to fall in fine drops.

verb (used with object), driz·zled, driz·zling.

to pour in a fine stream: Drizzle melted butter over the breadcrumb topping.
to rain or let fall in fine drops or particles; sprinkle: He then drizzled grated cheese over the hot pasta.

noun

a very light rain.
Meteorology. precipitation consisting of numerous minute droplets of water less than 1/50 (0.02) inch (0.5 mm) in diameter.

Origin of drizzle

1535–45; perhaps back formation from dryseling, dissimilated variant of Middle English drysning fall (of dew); akin to Old English drēosan to fall; cognate with Old Saxon driosan, Gothic driusan

Related formsdriz·zly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for drizzly

muggy, watery, rainy, soggy, damp, humid, stormy, wet, drizzly, misty, soaked, cloudy, sticky, moist, dank, steamy, waterlogged, saturated, sodden, sopping

Examples from the Web for drizzly

Contemporary Examples of drizzly

But a drizzly ten minutes later, an exuberantly overweight man with a bright-red face suddenly roared his taxi around the corner.
The Resurgence of British Cuisine
Condé Nast Traveler
January 17, 2014
On a drizzly morning in Cape Cod, all talk of birthers and beer summits was silenced as hundreds said goodbye to a fallen soldier.
Salute to a Noble Marine
Mike Barnicle
August 4, 2009
One hears that the globe is warming but we see little evidence of it here in drizzly London.
Obama Meets the Queen
Katty Kay
March 31, 2009

Historical Examples of drizzly

The shops were not yet all lighted, and a drizzly rain was falling.
Wilfrid Cumbermede
George MacDonald
Her hair wet with the drizzly atmosphere hung about her face.
Traditions of Lancashire, Volume 2 (of 2)
John Roby
Toward noon the rain turned to a drizzly snow, and finally ceased.
The U.P. Trail
Zane Grey
Though a drizzly, sleety day, it did not dampen our ardor—nor that of the mosquitos.
In Search of a Siberian Klondike
Homer B. Hulbert
When the morning came, dark and drizzly, she found it hard to keep her word.
The Hallowell Partnership
Katharine Holland Brown

British Dictionary definitions for drizzly

drizzle

noun

very light rain, specifically consisting of droplets less than 0.5 mm in diameter

verb

(intr) to rain lightly
(tr) to moisten with tiny droplets

Derived Formsdrizzly, adjective

Word Origin for drizzle

Old English drēosan to fall; related to Old Saxon driosan, Gothic driusan, Norwegian drjōsa

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for drizzly

drizzle

1540s, perhaps an alteration of drysning "a falling of dew" (c.1400), from Old English -drysnian, related to dreosan "to fall," from PIE root *dhreu- (see drip (v.)). Or perhaps a frequentative of Middle English dresen "to fall," from Old English dreosan. Related: Drizzled; drizzling. As a noun, from 1550s.