Library / English Dictionary

DRIZZLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Very light rain; stronger than mist but less than a shower

Synonyms:

drizzle; mizzle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Hypernyms ("drizzle" is a kind of...):

rain; rainfall (water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere)

Derivation:

drizzle (rain lightly)

drizzly (wet with light rain)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Moisten with fine drops

Example:

drizzle the meat with melted butter

Synonyms:

drizzle; moisten

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "drizzle" is one way to...):

splash; splosh; sprinkle (cause (a liquid) to spatter about, especially with force)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Sentence example:

They drizzle the bread with melted butter

Sense 2

Meaning:

Rain lightly

Example:

When it drizzles in summer, hiking can be pleasant

Synonyms:

drizzle; mizzle

Classified under:

Verbs of raining, snowing, thawing, thundering

Hypernyms (to "drizzle" is one way to...):

rain; rain down (precipitate as rain)

Sentence frame:

It is ----ing

Sentence example:

It was drizzleing all day long

Derivation:

drizzle (very light rain; stronger than mist but less than a shower)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Came days of fog, when even Maud’s spirit drooped and there were no merry words upon her lips; days of calm, when we floated on the lonely immensity of sea, oppressed by its greatness and yet marvelling at the miracle of tiny life, for we still lived and struggled to live; days of sleet and wind and snow-squalls, when nothing could keep us warm; or days of drizzling rain, when we filled our water-breakers from the drip of the wet sail.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

I was so sensitively aware, indeed, of being younger than I could have wished, that for some time I could not make up my mind to pass her at all, under the ignoble circumstances of the case; but, hearing her there with a broom, stood peeping out of window at King Charles on horseback, surrounded by a maze of hackney-coaches, and looking anything but regal in a drizzling rain and a dark-brown fog, until I was admonished by the waiter that the gentleman was waiting for me.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

But that's not always the case in Antarctica, where for the first time, drizzle has been recorded at temperatures well below freezing.

(Drizzle at sub-zero temps recorded in Antarctica, National Science Foundation)

A cold drizzle was falling, but he bared his head to it and unbuttoned his vest, swinging along in splendid unconcern.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The presence of drizzle over several hours could have implications for climate model predictions.

(Drizzle at sub-zero temps recorded in Antarctica, National Science Foundation)

"We're familiar with drizzle as a process that takes place in warm temperatures," said atmospheric scientist Israel Silber of Penn State, lead author of the study.

(Drizzle at sub-zero temps recorded in Antarctica, National Science Foundation)

Analysis of these data combined with other ground-based and satellite measurements confirmed that the particles were indeed drizzle.

(Drizzle at sub-zero temps recorded in Antarctica, National Science Foundation)

Data collected from laser measurements indicated the presence of water particles — hydrometeors — that were nearly spherical, which can indicate drizzle drops.

(Drizzle at sub-zero temps recorded in Antarctica, National Science Foundation)

"At lower temperatures, processes like ice formation and growth make the probability of drizzle significantly lower."

(Drizzle at sub-zero temps recorded in Antarctica, National Science Foundation)

Previous reports recorded supercooled drizzle at these temperatures, but only for brief durations.

(Drizzle at sub-zero temps recorded in Antarctica, National Science Foundation)