What does cloudy mean?
Cloudy is an adjective describing conditions covered or partially covered by clouds, most often applied to the sky or weather. A cloudy day lacks direct sunshine and may signal approaching rain. The word extends naturally beyond meteorology: a cloudy liquid is murky or opaque rather than clear, and figuratively, cloudy can describe muddled thinking, uncertain memories, or ambiguous meanings — as when emotions cloud judgment. Its connotations are usually mild and neutral in literal weather contexts but slightly negative when figurative, suggesting confusion or lack of transparency. Derived from the noun cloud, which in Old English referred to a mass of rock or hill before shifting to its modern sky-related sense, cloudy is a versatile everyday word essential to weather talk and useful far beyond it. Common derivatives include cloudily and cloudiness.
adjectiveCovered with or characterized by clouds; lacking clear sunshine. Also used figuratively to mean unclear, muddled, or obscured, as in thought, memory, or liquid.
- Covered with or full of clouds; overcast.
- (Of a liquid) turbid, murky, or opaque rather than transparent.
- (Figurative) Unclear, vague, or impaired, as in memory, thinking, or meaning.
"The sky turned cloudy by mid-afternoon, threatening rain."
"It was a cold, cloudy morning with not a hint of sun."
"The lemonade looked cloudy, as if someone had stirred in flour."
The word "cloud" originally meant a mass of rock or hill in Old English — clouds got their name because people thought they looked like floating rocks.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cloudy
Cloudy derives from the noun cloud plus the adjectival suffix -y. The noun itself comes from Old English clūd, which originally meant a mass of rock or a hill; in Middle English the word shifted to denote the visible masses of vapor in the sky, presumably by resemblance to rocks. The adjective emerged in English usage around the early modern period and has since developed both literal and figurative senses. Related forms sharing the same Germanic root include clod and clodhopper.
Related word forms
How cloudy is actually used
Entirely standard and neutral across registers. In weather forecasting, "partly cloudy" conventionally implies less cloud cover than "mostly cloudy." The figurative use ("cloudy judgment," "cloudy memories") carries a mildly negative connotation of confusion or impairment.
Easily confused with cloudy
"Cloud" is the noun for the visible mass of water droplets itself, while "cloudy" is the adjective describing something covered with or resembling such clouds.