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 thrill comes from the squint — the desperate, reflexive need to make out something in the haze.

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026

"Tens of thousands of babies are suffering from health problems. They cannot breathe" because of the fires emitting a toxic haze that has spread far across the region.

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026

Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan was expected to meet Prabowo in Jakarta on Wednesday, a day after saying the haze was "not a natural phenomenon" and the fires "were caused by human action".

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026

The government has also warned that the haze could persist for several weeks given El Nino, Ong notes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

I see the haze before I see the building.

From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron

In near-infrared imaging, high-altitude hazes typically appear blurry, with enhanced brightness over the equatorial region.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2023

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

From Scientific American ● Oct. 20, 2023

"What we have always seen as blurred hazes in Jupiter's atmosphere now appear as crisp features that we can track along with the planet's fast rotation."

From Science Daily ● 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

“When this calendar year ends, we will have hazed over 25,000 birds off the airport,” Nelsen said.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 27, 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

“Willingness has nothing to do with being hazed, you can be willing and be hazed,” said the father.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2021

The air around Nailer was hazed with the black work of shoreline smelters, but out there, beyond the smoke, he could see sails.

From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi

Still, the following year, Chi Phi, the fraternity implicated in the Jane Doe case, was among a half-dozen at Cornell found responsible for hazing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

That is why preventing hazing requires more than prohibiting particular behavior or responding after the fact.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Longtime Bush friend Clay Johnson recalls that Bush revealed nascent political skill during fraternity hazing at Yale.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 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

“Middle school is supposed to be the worst. It’s like a giant hazing for adulthood. We all gotta go through it.”

From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty

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