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Heat Haze

Weather
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A shimmering visual distortion caused by hot air near the ground.

Detailed Definition
Heat haze is the wavering distortion seen above roads, fields, roofs, or deserts when layers of hot air bend light. It can make distant objects appear to tremble, blur, or float in an unreal brightness. In poetry, heat haze often conveys exhaustion, longing, mirage, or the oppressive stillness of summer. Because it unsettles the eye without changing the landscape itself, it can also suggest uncertainty in the speaker's perception.
Example
Example in poetry:
In the heat haze, the highway seemed to pour itself into the horizon; Use heat haze for the shimmering visual distortion caused by hot air near the ground; The heat haze made the distant cattle float above the plain, as if thirst had invented them; A poem can let heat haze blur memory and landscape together, making certainty appear unstable
Additional Notes
Heat haze makes distant objects seem to ripple, blur, or float because rising hot air bends light. It is useful for imagery of thirst, exhaustion, mirage, distance, and an uncertain or dreamlike horizon.
Also Known As
Heat Shimmer Thermal Shimmer
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