I. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a cloud of smoke (= a large amount )
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He lit a cigarette and blew out a cloud of smoke.
a rain cloud
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Thick black rain clouds massed in the sky.
blanket of fog/cloud
clouds...gathering
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Storm clouds were gathering so we hurried home.
confuse/cloud/muddy the issue (= make an issue more difficult to understand or deal with than it needs to be )
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You must not let your feelings cloud the issue.
mushroom cloud
rock/cloud formation
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the canyon’s impressive rock formations
storm cloud
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Storm clouds are gathering over the trade negotiations.
Storm clouds are gathering
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Storm clouds are gathering over the trade negotiations.
storm clouds
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We could see storm clouds in the distance.
the sky clouds over (= clouds appear )
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The sky was beginning to cloud over.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
black
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Huge, black clouds rushed on the horizon.
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I leave the gym, enveloped in a thick black cloud of despair.
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Afterwards, a huge black cloud of acrid smoke rose hundreds of feet above the town.
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A black flotilla of clouds rose towering over the mountains and advanced on the house.
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Darkness had come prematurely with the deluge, the gloom summoned early by such an abundance of black cloud .
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A turbulent black cloud like a rumpled sheet seemed to descend from heaven.
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Rain swilled and foamed in its open mouth as it looked at the churning black clouds and the eruptions of fractured lightning.
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The black cloud returned to the screen as if it had followed them.
dark
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And that wasn't the only dark cloud on the horizon.
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And those bushy eyebrows that resembled dark clouds on his horizon.-How come?
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A dark cloud floated across the moon.
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We were bumping along a dirt road when a storm gathered dark clouds above us.
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It was like a dark foreboding cloud that settled on every aspect of my personality.
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It grows to be a small dark cloud of purpose, opaque with life.
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The sign to fasten seat-belts lit up in front of him. Dark clouds enveloped the aircraft and it began to bump through them.
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A dark cloud rolls lazily towards her in the sky.
dense
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It flings its fine hairs in the face of the assailant, in a dense cloud .
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The Magellan radar-mapping mission was designed to penetrate the dense cloud layer and return detailed radar images of the surface geology.
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Standard polyurethane foam ignites rapidly, forming dense clouds of smoke and toxic vapour as it does so.
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The acacia grove, like a dense cloud , became a dark backdrop for her.
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The wind began to pick up strongly; dense grey clouds skidded across the sky.
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It appears that the Leonids contain a dense cloud of dust released during recent stressful passages of comet Tempel-Tuttle by the Sun.
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This shop is surely an outpost of hell, with its oppressive heat and dense clouds of smoke.
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Dark clouds rolled over denser , thicker clouds and merged with them.
great
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There's a great cloud of smoke.
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Wherever it was, the entrance to it was a great gate of clouds kept by the Seasons.
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More and more men were transformed by the mutating power of the great clouds of Chaos magic drifting from the poles.
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Where the bombs had landed would be great clouds of dust.
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There was a great black cloud hovering over her head.
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It subsided in a great cloud of dust.
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Their swords and spears flashed, and a great cloud of arrows came flying, so that the air was black with them.
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At last they came to the topmost ridge of the mountain, and there lay a great field of cloud ahead of them.
grey
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Grown men buckle under the fear that these relentless, dancing grey clouds bring.
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But the very humiliation of being summoned turned the grey clouds over her veracity into a full thunderstorm.
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Though the steady march of grey clouds , a tiny square of blue emerges.
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The grey clouds that had prevailed that morning began to break up, promising a fine afternoon.
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The day was bright and windy and low grey fluffy clouds raced across the thin sun.
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Wisps of high grey cloud scarcely moved behind the copper beech.
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The sky was low and constantly shifting as different layers of grey and black cloud were dragged around by gusty winds.
heavy
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Under dark, heavy clouds , I returned to the den on the river.
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Looking northwards towards the end of the dale, she frowned to see the accumulation of heavy clouds above the moors.
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During June and July, heavy cloud may at times build up and the weather can become very humid.
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But towards morning heavy clouds spread across.
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Dark heavy clouds were crawling across the sky, blotting out the stars.
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Shadows of light passed across the high windows, heavy , low clouds moving by outside.
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The heavy clouds that had gathered about the summit of Mont Blanc boiled from within.
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While they slept, heavy clouds swirled over the valley in massed ranks and the snow began to fall.
high
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Closer yet, and the clustered spires of each hive soar from the wastes of ash to pierce the highest clouds .
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There may be some high clouds drifting by during the afternoon.
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Maybe we shall have one of those text book days of gentle ripple, high cloud and blue sky.
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There was a high cloud cover.
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There was a high wind and clouds scudded across the blue sky and when the sun was obscured the wind seemed cold.
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On either side of each barrier it leaves similar pockets of high and low cloud cover, of arid and lush terrain.
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I floated high on clouds , not of golden daffodils but of fantasies.
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Contentment filled her and she watched the high white clouds .
huge
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Afterwards, a huge black cloud of acrid smoke rose hundreds of feet above the town.
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It begins churning ahead, blowing huge clouds of spray from its spout, and generating great foam in its wake.
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You see it on telly, it goes down in sections and crumples in a huge cloud of dust.
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The fire sent up a huge cloud of smoke visible from San Francisco, 40 miles to the south.
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For an hour huge cloud came and covered sun.
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By evening a huge cloud of smoke began to rise from the scene, but it came from a barbecue pit.
low
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Once it entered low mountain cloud , production of acids increased 14-fold and fallout increased over 200 percent.
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However, cloud conditions in Florida are expected to worsen after Friday, with low clouds and rain showers likely.
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To compound the problem, drizzle and low cloud was firmly entrenched in the area.
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Clearing conditions were forecast behind the cold front that dragged low clouds through Central Florida early Friday.
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The control tower staff saw the aircraft making a sharp left-hand climbing turn before it disappeared into thick low cloud .
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On either side of each barrier it leaves similar pockets of high and low cloud cover, of arid and lush terrain.
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On a bill just ahead, the last of a broken Franciscan monastery, its dome of low cloud smeared in grey.
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Then flames burst from an upper window of the abandoned tenement a mile away across the river, reddening the low clouds .
small
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One moment the sky is clear - then, on the horizon, one small insignificant cloud .
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It grows to be a small dark cloud of purpose, opaque with life.
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Next, look up at the blue sky - and notice a small , dark cloud drifting past.
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He put his head next to mine, as we looked up at the few small , dappled clouds .
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Some say the sweat steamed from its back in small grey clouds .
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There was a small pinkish-white cloud of waste-dust that rose up from it.
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He became aware of the wind getting up a little more, sending the small clouds scudding across the face of the moon.
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Asik heard a rumbling noise and he could just see a small cloud of dust appearing in the distance.
thick
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The control tower staff saw the aircraft making a sharp left-hand climbing turn before it disappeared into thick low cloud .
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The sun was down, but there was still light buried in the thick clouds patrolling the sky.
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On approaching the high ground before the Alps themselves we all encountered thick cloud , despite the season, and icing.
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By morning thick clouds drift over, but the sky between them is deep blue and occasionally the sun peeks through.
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A thick cloud of mosquitoes had arrived on time and soon settled on everything and everybody.
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Dark clouds rolled over denser, thicker clouds and merged with them.
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Unfortunately the fireworks must have seeded the thick clouds overhead because it absolutely poured with rain, and we got soaked.
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It was like walking into a thick cloud .
white
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As they approach London they let down through the shining white floor of cloud into a dull grey light.
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We were to imagine a beautiful, white cloud gently touching our faces.
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Then I became aware that the bank of white clouds beyond was in reality the great ice-cap of Vatnajökull.
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Alice stole one long drink before rolling over in the boundless bed, fantasizing it as an endless beach of white cloud .
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Great white clouds rolled above us, tumbling over the mountain summit as if eager to find quieter air.
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Her face was a pile of white cloud afire with red hair.
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Contentment filled her and she watched the high white clouds .
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I stood on that porch listening to the silence, watching the white clouds in the dark blue summer sky.
■ NOUN
cover
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The temperature rises with the cloud cover , and the snow underfoot becomes wet and soft, making progress difficult and tiring.
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Wind currents and cloud cover always played havoc with our helicopters.
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Crop yields would fall as a result of shorter growing periods, and reduced solar radiation due to heavier cloud cover .
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And he heard now, from another direction, up above the cloud cover , a 28.
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Long periods of cloud cover hindered data acquisition during the 1991-92 summer period.
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The day was hot and there was no cloud cover at all.
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The cloud cover as well as the atmospheric conditions are precisely defined.
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There was considerable cloud cover , but he could still detect the blue-green out-lines of the Gold Coast.
dust
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At the edge of the plain a new dust cloud hovered.
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Although park emergency systems were mobilized immediately, the dust cloud prevented an immediate search, then darkness made it impossible.
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The dust cloud was closer now: about half a verst away.
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The dust cloud begins to smear out along the orbit of the comet.
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This was followed last year by the announcement that diamonds have been found in dust clouds surrounding forming stars.
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From the watchtowers a dust cloud is spied on the horizon.
formation
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Some theorists even believe that solar wind particles hitting the atmosphere may trigger cloud formation .
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Mountains stretched as far as my eyes could see, until the next cloud formation .
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However, a minority of features may be the result of waves which influence cloud formation as they move through the atmosphere.
gas
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A heavy overcast like a poison gas cloud was stationary over the battered city.
mushroom
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Some amyl too, which blew Jed's head up like a mushroom cloud .
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Dust is raised by near-surface bursts and lifted to high altitudes by the mushroom cloud .
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Sandro Botticelli s chart of hell is like a mushroom cloud or a child s spinning top.
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They raise horrendous amounts of dust, which is carried by the rising mushroom clouds into the stratosphere.
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But atomic power to my generation always means that mushroom cloud .
rain
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Black rain clouds were scudding in over the Thames.
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Outside, the rain clouds were gone, and the white, bony moon was full.
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Air turbulence may also be associated with rain clouds .
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Crossing high and fast above the plains, headed else-where, you are doing what rain clouds tend to do.
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Black rain clouds were riding up from the south, killing the light and making the day seem almost over.
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Finally, I could feel the turbulence pass like a battering rain cloud moving on.
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The sky looked like one massive mottled rain cloud .
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Dark rain clouds hung low over the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.
storm
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But a storm cloud hovered on the horizon.
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I saw the storm clouds approaching.
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Her teased black hair surrounded her like a storm cloud .
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And out in the world, new storm clouds were gathering.
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But suddenly the storm clouds are gathering.
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Up ahead, in North Dakota, storm clouds came all the way down to the ground like an overhead garage door.
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Animation is fair, but the scene where the dragon flies into a storm cloud and is electrocuted is positively brain-bending!
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Walls a saturated sky blue, broken by gray the color of storm clouds .
■ VERB
blow
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High above, the birds wheeled and dipped in the wind that blew the clouds across the huge sky.
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It begins churning ahead, blowing huge clouds of spray from its spout, and generating great foam in its wake.
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Shifting winds blew clouds of spray over the rocks, trees, and shrubs until they seemed to be sheathed in alabaster.
break
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The late morning sun was beginning to break through the clouds .
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When the sun broke through the cloud , she felt exalted.
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Now, one characteristic shines like a beacon in a storm, like the sun breaking through clouds .
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And there were those glorious sunrises in flight, breaking through the clouds .
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But by the time they finished, the snow stopped and the sun broke through the clouds .
cast
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Armagh's injury worries cast a cloud over their preparations and Fermanagh could mount a smash and grab raid this time.
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Nice touches include steam vents that cast lingering clouds over the courses and new audio cues to warn of danger.
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The housing directory will help bridge this gap - although the proposed legal aid cuts do cast a cloud over this.
form
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It glittered eerily for a second and exploded, forming a cloud of tinsel.
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Methane condenses to form a cloud layer above the ammonia clouds, leaving a gas that is almost entirely hydrogen and helium.
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Standard polyurethane foam ignites rapidly, forming dense clouds of smoke and toxic vapour as it does so.
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Several different atmospheric constituents can form clouds in the Jovian atmosphere.
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But this year, it has finally decided to flower profusely, forming brownish clouds which drift hazily over the bush.
gather
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We were bumping along a dirt road when a storm gathered dark clouds above us.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
cast a shadow/cloud over sth
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And Dexter tried to calm his faint resentment against her for casting a shadow over his optimistic mood.
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Armagh's injury worries cast a cloud over their preparations and Fermanagh could mount a smash and grab raid this time.
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But even should he reappear tomorrow looking hale and hearty, his long absence will have cast a shadow over his position.
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But this has cast a shadow over the College.
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It can not be denied, however, that Ramsey's death cast a shadow over all our activities.
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Show jeopardy: Langbaurgh's budget economies have cast a shadow over the future of East Cleveland's annual show.
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They cast a shadow over his meeting yesterday in the state capital, Chandigarh.
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Without the money ... it could cast a shadow over the future of student theatre in Oxford.
have your head in the clouds
heavy sky/clouds
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But towards morning heavy clouds spread across.
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Dark heavy clouds were crawling across the sky, blotting out the stars.
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Looking northwards towards the end of the dale, she frowned to see the accumulation of heavy clouds above the moors.
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The heavy clouds that had gathered about the summit of Mont Blanc boiled from within.
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Under dark, heavy clouds, I returned to the den on the river.
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While they slept, heavy clouds swirled over the valley in massed ranks and the snow began to fall.
veil of mist/cloud/smoke etc
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The moon was hidden under a veil of clouds, and there was not a breath of wind.
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Whose light retires behind its veil of cloud.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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a cloud of flies
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Dark clouds gathered overhead.
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Dense cloud prevented the rescue helicopter from taking off.
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The plane was unable to land due to strong winds and low cloud cover.
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There wasn't a single cloud in the sky.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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A band of cloud stretched low across the valley and it was raining slightly.
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Above shone the stars and the rings; below lay a dimly visible sea of clouds.
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All the buildings shook, and at the same time a forked tongue of flame burst upward through the cloud .
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As the road climbed upward, gray-white cloud veils drifted among the dales, chiffon scarves of some giant Isadora Duncan.
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If clouds ap-peared, the clock hid behind them.
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The sun was setting in a blaze of pink, casting rosy shadows on the undersides of large, wet-looking clouds.
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These clouds are unbroken, and never, for example, look like the billowy cumulus clouds of the Earth.
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Under dark, heavy clouds, I returned to the den on the river.
II. verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
over
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But his mind had clouded over again at the wrong moment and now it was too late.
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Her eyes clouded over for a second, but even then all was not lost.
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For a moment his eyes looked at her beseechingly, then they clouded over and were vacant.
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When I got back to the cabin the sky had started to cloud over .
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Daylight broke, a stiff breeze struck up and the sky clouded over .
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Toward late afternoon, a strong wind came up and the sky clouded over .
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When he tried to speak his eye fluttered shut and then sprang open again, that bright red persimmon clouding over .
■ NOUN
face
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His face clouded again at the thought.
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He frowned, and the handsome face clouded momentarily, petulant as a child's.
horizon
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The failure of the talks held in Geneva at the end of September has clouded the horizon and increased tensions.
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New equipment and processes would never be tested in manufacturing environments; new strategies and theories would seldom cloud managerial horizons .
judgement
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The fact that you have enjoyed a few jars together will not cloud a journalist's judgement .
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She had allowed her own feelings to cloud her judgement .
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Wasn't he allowing his personal interests and prejudices to cloud his judgement ?
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It arises from too much enthusiasm clouding the judgement of those developing the new electronic products.
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However, he warns that competition, especially in a recession, can cloud a company judgement .
mind
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All sorts of doubts clouded my mind .
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When Carpathia walks around clouding men's minds and portending dark futures, it is impossible not to think of Darth Vader.
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Yet drink clouded his mind , and in his heart Cranston knew that Athelstan was right to disapprove.
vision
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He told me that there are good people about and not to let this incident cloud my vision .
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He had perhaps allowed hatred of the Hohenstaufer to cloud his vision .
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If the sheer quantity of information about 1992 is clouding your vision , look no further for the silver lining.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
have your head in the clouds
heavy sky/clouds
▪
But towards morning heavy clouds spread across.
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Dark heavy clouds were crawling across the sky, blotting out the stars.
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Looking northwards towards the end of the dale, she frowned to see the accumulation of heavy clouds above the moors.
▪
The heavy clouds that had gathered about the summit of Mont Blanc boiled from within.
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Under dark, heavy clouds, I returned to the den on the river.
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While they slept, heavy clouds swirled over the valley in massed ranks and the snow began to fall.
veil of mist/cloud/smoke etc
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The moon was hidden under a veil of clouds, and there was not a breath of wind.
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Whose light retires behind its veil of cloud.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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Alcohol had clouded his judgment.
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His face clouded when he saw her.
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The decision to put a parent in a nursing home can be clouded by guilt.
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The display cases were clouded with dust.
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The team's victory was clouded by the tragic events in their hometown.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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Bethany poised over the bed, a slight abstract frown clouding her face.
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But her happiness is clouded by having to leave daughter Amber behind.
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But images of the period are shrouded in myth and clouded by partisan rhetoric.
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However, the shadow of war was beginning to cloud the cricket world.
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The fact that you have enjoyed a few jars together will not cloud a journalist's judgement.
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When I got back to the cabin the sky had started to cloud over.