1
a
: fine dust, smoke, or light vapor causing lack of transparency of the air
b
: a cloudy appearance in a transparent liquid or solid
also
: a dullness of finish (as on furniture)
2
: something suggesting atmospheric haze
especially
: vagueness of mind or mental perception : unclear state of mind
woke up in a haze
hazed; hazing
: to make hazy, dull, or cloudy
: to become hazy or cloudy
hazed; hazing
1
a
: to harass by exacting unnecessary or disagreeable work
b
: to harass by banter, ridicule, or criticism
2
: to play tricks on or force to do unpleasant or unsafe things as initiation
haze the fraternity pledges
3
Western US
: to drive (animals, such as cattle or horses) from horseback
hazer
noun
Examples of haze in a Sentence
Noun
The bar was filled with a smoky haze.
She stumbled around in a drug-induced haze.
Verb (2)
the roughnecks on the oil rig would haze the young man for his refined manners and educated speech
Recent Examples on the Web
Literary Hub, 21 Jan. 2026
Ya Tseen’s Stand on My Shoulders sounds like waking up disoriented in someone else’s dream—voices drift in and out, shifting between languages, and the psych-rock haze never quite resolves into clarity.
—Petala Ironcloud, Pitchfork, 20 Jan. 2026
Coloradans and all Americans can see through the haze of this administration’s lies.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 20 Jan. 2026
Iconic photographs from pioneering observatories of decades past, such as the Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope, had shown this maelstrom as an extended haze around the nebula’s glowing iris.
—Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for haze
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Noun
Within this moment, coated in the sugary haze of professional success, a new home, a beautiful wife, and a growing young family warmed by the comforting glow of Christmas-time, Jackie Robinson has never been more ascendant, more complete, more American.
—Literary Hub, 21 Jan. 2026
Ya Tseen’s Stand on My Shoulders sounds like waking up disoriented in someone else’s dream—voices drift in and out, shifting between languages, and the psych-rock haze never quite resolves into clarity.
—Petala Ironcloud, Pitchfork, 20 Jan. 2026
Coloradans and all Americans can see through the haze of this administration’s lies.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 20 Jan. 2026
Iconic photographs from pioneering observatories of decades past, such as the Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope, had shown this maelstrom as an extended haze around the nebula’s glowing iris.
—Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for haze
Cite this Entry
“Haze.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/haze. Accessed 22 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
haze
2 of 3 verb
hazed; hazing
: to make or become hazy or cloudy
haze
3 of 3 verb
hazed; hazing
: to play unpleasant and humiliating tricks on (as new members of a college fraternity) or force to perform humiliating tasks or stunts
hazer
noun
Etymology
Noun
from hazy
Verb
origin unknown
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