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fog1

[fog, fawg]
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noun
  1. a cloudlike mass or layer of minute water droplets or ice crystals near the surface of the earth, appreciably reducing visibility.Compare ice fog, mist, smog.
  2. any darkened state of the atmosphere, or the diffused substance that causes it.
  3. a state of mental confusion or unawareness; daze; stupor: The survivors were in a fog for days after the catastrophe.
  4. Photography. a hazy effect on a developed negative or positive, caused by light other than that forming the image, by improper handling during development, or by the use of excessively old film.
  5. Physical Chemistry. a mixture consisting of liquid particles dispersed in a gaseous medium.
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verb (used with object), fogged, fog·ging.
  1. to cover or envelop with or as if with fog: The steam in the room fogged his glasses.
  2. to confuse or obscure: The debate did little else but fog the issue.
  3. to bewilder or perplex: to fog the mind.
  4. Photography. to produce fog on (a negative or positive).
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verb (used without object), fogged, fog·ging.
  1. to become enveloped or obscured with or as if with fog.
  2. Photography. (of a negative or positive) to become affected by fog.
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Origin of fog1

1535–45; perhaps by back formation from foggy. See fog2
Related formsfog·less, adjectiveun·fogged, adjectiveun·fog·ging, adjective

Synonyms

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3. obfuscation. See cloud. 7. becloud, obfuscate, dim, blur, darken. 8. daze, befuddle, muddle, mystify.

Antonyms

3. clarity. 7. clarify. 10. clear.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for fogging

Historical Examples

  • Of all developers it is most free from fogging propensities.

    The Barnet Book of Photography

    Various

  • His mind was fogging and he had difficulty in finding the words.

    The Next Time We Die

    Robert Moore Williams

  • But no drizzling and fogging afterwards—no drizzling and fogging, woman.

    Rainbow Valley

    Lucy Maud Montgomery

  • If fogging is noticed, of course additional precautions should be taken at once.

  • The damp air was fogging the lenses, but I kept them to my eyes; for I did not want to look at Davies.

    The Riddle of the Sands

    Erskine Childers

British Dictionary definitions for fogging

fog1

noun
  1. a mass of droplets of condensed water vapour suspended in the air, often greatly reducing visibility, corresponding to a cloud but at a lower level
  2. a cloud of any substance in the atmosphere reducing visibility
  3. a state of mental uncertainty or obscurity
  4. photog a blurred or discoloured area on a developed negative, print, or transparency caused by the action of extraneous light, incorrect development, etc
  5. a colloid or suspension consisting of liquid particles dispersed in a gas
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verb fogs, fogging or fogged
  1. to envelop or become enveloped with or as if with fog
  2. to confuse or become confusedto fog an issue
  3. photog to produce fog on (a negative, print, or transparency) or (of a negative, print, or transparency) to be affected by fog
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Word Origin

C16: perhaps back formation from foggy damp, boggy, from fog ²

fog2

noun
    1. a second growth of grass after the first mowing
    2. grass left to grow long in winter
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Word Origin

C14: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Norwegian fogg rank grass
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 fogging

fog

n.1

"thick, obscuring mist," 1540s, probably from a Scandinavian source akin to Danish fog "spray, shower, snowdrift," Old Norse fok "snow flurry," fjuk "snow storm." Cf. also Old English fuht, Dutch vocht, German Feucht "moist." Figurative phrase in a fog "at a loss what to do" first recorded c.1600.

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fog

n.2

"long grass," c.1300, probably of Scandinavian origin, cf. Norwegian fogg "long grass in a moist hollow," Icelandic fuki "rotten sea grass." The connection to fog (n.1), via a notion of long grass growing in moist dells of northern Europe, is tempting but not proven. Watkins suggests derivation from PIE *pu- "to rot, decay."

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fog

v.

1590s, from fog (n.1). Related: Fogged; fogging.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
fogging in Medicine

fogging

(fŏg′ĭng)
n.
  1. A method of refracting the eye in which accommodation is relaxed by overcorrection with a convex spherical lens, used in testing vision.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
fogging in Science

fog

[fôg]
  1. A dense layer of cloud lying close to the surface of the ground or water and reducing visibility to less than 1 km (0.62 mi). Fog occurs when the air temperature becomes identical, or nearly identical, to the dew point.
  2. An opaque or semiopaque condensation of a substance floating in a region or forming on a surface.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Idioms and Phrases with fogging

fog

see in a fog.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.