mistiness

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

mist /mɪst/   n. 

1. Meteorology a mass of tiny drops of water, resembling fog:
   [uncountable] driving through mist.
   [countable] the mists of Avalon.
2. a cloud of particles resembling this:
   [countable] a mist of perfume.
3. something that dims or blurs:
   [countable] a mist of tears.

v. 

4. to (cause to) become misty: [no object;  (~ + up/over) ]
   His eyes misted (over) when he told us about his dead son.
   [~ + object]
   The humidity misted the car window.
5. to rain in very fine drops;
   drizzle:
   [no object* it + ~] It was misting, not quite raining.

mist•i•ness, n. [uncountable]
mist•y, adj., -i•er, -i•est. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

mist  (mist), n. 

1. Meteorology a cloudlike aggregation of minute globules of water suspended in the atmosphere at or near the earth's surface, reducing visibility to a lesser degree than fog.
2. a cloud of particles resembling this:
   She sprayed a mist of perfume onto her handkerchief.
3. something that dims, obscures, or blurs:
   the mist of ignorance.
4. a haze before the eyes that dims the vision:
   a mist of tears.
5. a suspension of a liquid in a gas.
6. Wine a drink of liquor served over cracked ice.
7. Medicine a fine spray produced by a vaporizer to add moisture to the air for breathing.

v.i. 

8. to become misty.
9. to rain in very fine drops;
   drizzle (usually used impersonally with it as subject):
   It was misting when they went out for lunch.

v.t. 

10. to make misty.
11. Botany to spray (plants) with a finely diffused jet of water, as a means of replacing lost moisture.

• bef. 900; (noun, nominal) Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch, Low German, Swedish mist; akin to Greek omíchlē fog, Russian mgla mist, Sanskrit megha cloud; (verb, verbal) Middle English misten, Old English mistian, derivative of the noun, nominal

mist′less, adj. 
Synonyms

• 3, 4. See cloud. 

mist., 

1. (in prescriptions) a mixture.

• Latin mistūra

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

mist•y  (mis′tē), adj., mist•i•er, mist•i•est. 

1. abounding in or clouded by mist.
2. of the nature of or consisting of mist.
3. appearing as if seen through mist;
   indistinct or blurred in form or outline.
4. obscure;
   vague.

• bef. 900; Middle English; Old English mistig. See mist, -y¹

mist′i•ly, adv. 
mist′i•ness, n.