cloudless

cloudless — adjective

1. describes weather or a sky that has no clouds in it, so the sun or the moon can

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

describes weather or a sky that has no clouds in it, so the sun or the moon can be seen clearly without anything blocking the view

Example

The cloudless sky over the desert made the stars look incredibly bright.

collocation: cloudless sky

Leila hoped for a cloudless morning so the wedding photos would turn out well.

collocation: cloudless morning

Synonyms
  • clear

    broader meaning — can describe weather, water, glass, explanations, or sounds; cloudless is limited to sky and weather only

  • sunny

    implies the sun is shining, while cloudless simply means no clouds are present (it could be night)

  • fair

    more formal and literary; describes pleasant weather without storms, often used in forecasts

Antonyms
  • cloudy

    the most direct opposite — describes a sky covered with clouds

  • overcast

    means the sky is completely covered by a thick layer of clouds, darker and heavier than just cloudy

Common Mistakes

The water in the lake was cloudless.
The water in the lake was clear.
cloudless only describes sky or weather, never liquids like water or glass.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe good weather, but cloudless is the most specific — it only tells you there are no clouds, without saying anything about temperature, sunshine, or visibility. Clear is the broadest term: a clear sky is cloudless, but clear can also describe water, glass, or a person's explanation. Sunny adds the idea of direct sunlight, so you would use it for a bright afternoon at the beach but not for a star-filled night. Bright focuses on the amount of light, whether from the sun, the moon, or artificial sources. Fair is the most formal and appears mostly in weather forecasts or literary descriptions ('fair skies ahead'). For everyday conversation, 'clear' and 'sunny' are far more common than cloudless. A typical natural sentence would be: 'It was a clear, sunny day — not a single cloud in the sky.'

clear ↗sunny ↗bright ↗fair ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • cloudless sky
  • cloudless night
  • cloudless day
  • cloudless morning
  • cloudless afternoon
  • cloudless weather
  • cloudless conditions

Adverbs

  • completely cloudless
  • perfectly cloudless
  • almost cloudless

Phrases

  • a cloudless blue sky
  • under a cloudless canopy

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Cloudless is formed from the noun 'cloud' (from Old English clūd, originally meaning 'a mass of rock or earth,' later shifting to mean a visible mass of water vapour in the sky) plus the suffix '-less' (from Old English -lēas, meaning 'without, lacking'). The combined word has been in use since at least the early 1600s.