Meaning & use
nebula
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Meanings
nouncountabletechnical
A huge cloud of gas and dust in space, which can glow or block starlight and is often where stars are born.
Grammar: Plural is nebulae or nebulas.
Patterns
- a nebula in a constellation
The Orion Nebula is visible with binoculars.
Telescopes captured the colorful nebula in the southern sky.
New stars form inside a dense nebula.
nouncountableold-fashioned
In older astronomy, any fuzzy patch of light in the sky, including what we now know are other galaxies.
Grammar: Historical sense.
Patterns
- spiral nebula
Early astronomers called the Andromeda galaxy a spiral nebula.
The old catalog lists every nebula he saw.
He sketched each nebula by hand.
nouncountableliteraryfigurative
A vague, cloudy mass or something unclear and hazy, used figuratively.
Grammar: Literary and rare.
Patterns
- a nebula of something
Her memories formed a nebula of half-remembered scenes.
A nebula of rumors surrounded the project.
The plan remained a nebula of ideas.
nouncountablemedicalrare
A cloudy spot on the cornea of the eye, in medical use.
Grammar: Rare medical sense.
Patterns
- a corneal nebula
The doctor noted a small nebula on the cornea.
Old injuries can leave a nebula in the eye.
Treatment aims to clear the nebula.
Word forms
| plural | nebulae or nebulas |
|---|
Common combinations
- planetary nebula
- A planetary nebula forms when a star sheds its outer layers.
- Orion Nebula
- The Orion Nebula glows in winter skies.
- gas nebula
- A gas nebula can be many light years wide.
- dust nebula
- The dust nebula hid the stars behind it.
- solar nebula
- Our solar system formed from a solar nebula.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
Commonly confused: nebula or nebulous? nebula or nova?
nebula vs nebulous
Nebulous means vague; it describes ideas, while nebula is a thing in space.
nebula vs nova
A nova is a star that suddenly brightens; a nebula is a cloud of gas.
Practice
What is a nebula?
Choose one answer.
A nebula is a cloud of gas and dust. Planets, comet tails and galaxy groups are different objects.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “nebula”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.