2 syllables: ha, zy. Stress on ha.
HAY-zee
/ˈheɪzi/
hazy is pronounced HAY-zee (/ˈheɪzi/). It has two syllables (ha-zy), with the stress on "ha". Hazy describes something that is blurred, unclear, or obscured, often due to mist, smoke, or figurative vagueness. It conveys a soft, diffusion-like quality that reduces sharpness in sight or understanding. In everyday use, hazy can modify nouns (hazy day) or states (a hazy memory), implying partial clarity rather than absolute. The term carries a slight informal, descriptive tone.
Hazy describes something that is blurred, unclear, or obscured, often due to mist, smoke, or figurative vagueness. It conveys a soft, diffusion-like quality that reduces sharpness in sight or understanding. In everyday use, hazy can modify nouns (hazy day) or states (a hazy memory), implying partial clarity rather than absolute. The term carries a slight informal, descriptive tone.
"The mountains were hazy in the heat, their outlines blurred by shimmering air."
"Her memory of the incident was hazy, mixing details with gaps in time."
"We woke to a hazy morning, with fog clinging to the valleys."
Pronounce it as /ˈheɪzi/ with two syllables: HAY-zee. The first syllable carries primary stress. Your mouth starts with an open-mid front position for /eɪ/ (as in say), then lax into a /z/ plus long E-like ending /i/. In most dialects, the final -y sounds like a long 'ee' (not 'ih'); keep the tongue high for /i/. See the IPA: /ˈheɪzi/.
Common errors include: misplacing the /eɪ/ as a short /e/ (saying ‘haz-ee’ with a short e), and confusing the final -y as /ɪ/ or /iː/ with inconsistent vowel length. Another frequent slip is de-stressing the first syllable (HAY-zee should have strong first syllable). Correction: articulate /ˈheɪ/ with a clear diphthong, then /zi/ with a voiced alveolar fricative followed by a high-front vowel. Practice the two-syllable rhythm: HAY-zee, with crisp /z/ and a final long /i/.
In US, UK, and AU, the first syllable /ˈheɪ/ remains similar (diphthong in front of /eɪ/), but rhoticity affects following vowels in connected speech; US speakers may produce a slightly tighter /ɪ/ or glide depending on region. The final /zi/ tends to be clear /zi/ in US and AU; UK often has a crisper /zɪ/ where vowel quality might be slightly reduced. All share the /ˈheɪzi/ skeleton, but the transition into /i/ can be quicker in US, more centralized in UK, and broader in AU.
The challenge lies in the smooth, two-part diphthong /eɪ/ followed by a voiced alveolar sibilant /z/ and a near-close front unrounded vowel /i/. It requires precise mouth shaping: a gradual glide from /eɪ/ to /i/ while maintaining voicing and avoiding a harsh stop. People often vocalize the /z/ too forcefully, producing an extra hiss, or shorten the /eɪ/ leading to 'hasi'. Slow, deliberate practice of the glide and voicing helps stabilize the rhythm.
The word’s second syllable /zi/ is often softened to a light, almost vowel-like /i/ or omitted in very casual speech, but keeping a distinct /z/ before a clear /i/ is key. Ensure the z is voiced (vibration in the throat) and the following vowel is a clean high-front /i/. In careful speech, you’ll hear /ˈheɪzi/ with a crisp onset to the /z/ and a bright final vowel.
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Hazy comes from the Middle English hazy, related to haze, which derives from the Old English hasa “fog, smoke” and the Proto-Germanic *hausō. The sense evolution tracks from a physical phenomenon—visual obscurity by haze or mist—to a figurative sense of lack of clarity or precision. First attested in earlier Middle English texts as a descriptor for obscured visibility, hazy gradually extended to describe memories, ideas, or arguments that are not clearly formed. The word’s core imagery centers on diffusion, softness, and partial transparency. Over time, hazy retained its general sense of partial illumination, but the contexts expanded with metaphorical usage in literature, journalism, and everyday speech. The form in American and British English converges in pronunciation, while regional usage tends to favor the literal sense in weather or figurative sense in introspective descriptions. The etymon tracks a stable root in haze, but its derivative form—hazy—emphasizes the adjectival function, signaling quality rather than a physical object. Contemporary dictionaries record hazy as both a literal weather descriptor and a metaphor for unclear cognition or memory, underscoring its flexible, informal register.
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Words that rhyme with "hazy"
-azy sounds
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