mizzle
/ˈmɪz.əl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈmɪz.əl/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈmi-zəl/ (ame, mw)
mizzle — noun
1. a fall of tiny water droplets between heavy mist and an outright shower — too th
a fall of tiny water droplets between heavy mist and an outright shower — too thin to need an umbrella but enough to soak your jacket if you stay out long.
Emre cycled home through a steady mizzle that fogged his glasses.
uncountable: a steady mizzle
A cold mizzle drifted across the moor as the hikers reached the summit.
collocation: cold / fine mizzle drifts
By morning the mizzle had soaked the laundry Trang left on the line.
Ayesha pulled her hood up against the mizzle blowing in from the sea.
There was a thin mizzle falling when Felix opened the back door.
- drizzle
the standard, more common term across both British and American English
- mist
tinier droplets that hang in the air rather than fall; usually doesn't wet you
- Scotch mist
British informal — a very fine drizzle with low cloud, often in upland areas
- downpour
heavy, hard rain — the opposite end of the rainfall scale
- cloudburst
a sudden, violent fall of rain
文法句型
mass noun
用法筆記
Mostly British and Scottish dialect; in standard American writing 'drizzle' covers the same weather. Treat as uncountable — say 'a mizzle' or 'some mizzle', never 'mizzles'.
常見錯誤
mizzle — verb
- mizzlepresent simple I / you / we / they
- mizzles3rd person singular
- mizzling-ing form
- mizzledpast simple
1. (of the weather) to send down very small water droplets — lighter than ordinary
(of the weather) to send down very small water droplets — lighter than ordinary rain but more than a passing mist, the kind of weather you only notice once your hair starts to feel damp.
It had been mizzling all morning, so Élise carried her umbrella to the bakery anyway.
weather it: it + mizzle + duration
By the time Lucía reached the bus stop, it was mizzling heavily enough to fog her phone screen.
intransitive + adverb of degree
It mizzled softly across the harbour while the fishermen mended their nets.
Whenever it mizzles in October, the village paths turn slick under a layer of fallen leaves.
It started to mizzle just as Kenji unlocked his bicycle outside the library.
- pour
to rain very heavily — the opposite intensity
- bucket down
British informal for heavy rain
文法句型
it + mizzles
用法筆記
Almost always takes weather 'it' as subject; a personal subject sounds wrong ('the sky mizzled' is poetic at best). Distinguish from sense 2 (verb/2 'leave suddenly') by context — weather verbs do not take a human agent.
常見錯誤
2. to slip away without warning, usually to avoid a duty, a bill, or an awkward goo
to slip away without warning, usually to avoid a duty, a bill, or an awkward goodbye — a dated British slang use, much like 'do a runner' or 'scarper'.
Femi mizzled out the side door as soon as the choir practice ran past nine.
mizzle + out + direction phrase
The lodger had mizzled by Sunday, leaving two months' rent unpaid on the kitchen table.
past perfect: had mizzled (avoidance context)
Christopher quietly mizzled from the meeting before anyone could ask him a question.
Piotr mizzled off down the lane the moment the police car pulled into the yard.
By the time the bill arrived, Lien had already mizzled to catch the last train.
- scarper
British slang — flee, especially to dodge trouble; same register as mizzle
- abscond
formal/legal — leave secretly, often with money or to escape custody
- do a runner
British informal idiom — leave to avoid paying or being caught
- skedaddle
old-fashioned informal — depart hurriedly, often playful in tone
- stay
remain where you are rather than slipping off
- face the music
stay and accept the consequences instead of fleeing
文法句型
mizzle + off
mizzle + away
用法筆記
Strongly informal and dated; today readers usually meet it in older British novels or regional speech. Distinguish from verb/1 (the weather sense) by the presence of a human subject and an adverb of direction ('off', 'out', 'away').