Pick the formal, lofty, literary, semi-common word "nimbus" to add a sense of glory or holiness to the cloudlike thing you're describing.

Writers often describe a nimbus of light, hair, fire, and flame. But you can get more creative than that: if anything seems to encircle something else in visually striking way, you can call it a nimbus. Here's T. H. White: "Millions of widgeon and mallard and tufted ducks flew about various wedges, looking like champagne bottles balanced on a nimbus of wings."

We can get figurative, too, and talk about a nimbus of some abstract mood, feeling, or quality. For example, a writer for the New Yorker said that there was "a nimbus of greatness" around the conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler. And a writer for Salon said that a television show had a "general nimbus of empathy for all of its personalities, even its villains."

"He waited, and in a moment she was at the kitchen window with a nimbus of light around her head."
   — David Guterson, Snow Falling on Cedars, 1994

"A nimbus of mist surrounded every streetlight so that they looked like golden dandelion seed heads."
   — Philip Pullman, The Book of Dust, 2017

has this page helped you understand "nimbus"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "nimbus" without saying "aura" or "halo of light."

try it out:

Fill in the blanks: "(Something) floated around (someone or something) like a nimbus."

Example 1: "In the afternoon light, specks of yellow pollen float around the trees like nimbuses."

Example 2: "The chicken flapped its wings wildly; downy feathers floated around Mami like a nimbus."
   — Esmeralda Santiago, When I Was Puerto Rican, 1993

If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.)

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for this month is Palindromes in Poems: Yay!

Check out the snippet of a poem, and supply the missing palindrome: the word spelled the same backward and forward, like "yay," "sees," or "racecar." Highlight the hints if you need them, and see the answer by scrolling all the way down. Enjoy!

Try this one today:

"And yet as angels in some brighter dreams
Call to the soul, when man doth sleep:
So some strange thoughts transcend our wonted themes
And into glory _____."
   — Henry Vaughan, "They are all Gone into the World of Light," 1655

To reveal the hints below, highlight the hidden white text.

Hint 1: The number of letters in this palindrome is... four.
Hint 2: The letter that this palindrome starts and ends with is... "P."

review this word:

1. The opposite of NIMBUSED, the adjective, could be

A. DRY.
B. BARE.
C. ACCURATE.

2. Dar Williams sings about a nimbus in "_____:" "_____."

A. Teen for God .. Their nightgowns glow with a holy light
B. Empire .. So get back on your horses, kiss my ring, join our next campaign
C. Party Generation .. So they walked out to Krispy Kroger's All Nite Sugar Palace

Answers to the review questions: 1. B 2. A Answer to the game question: "And yet as angels in some brighter dreams Call to the soul, when man doth sleep: So some strange thoughts transcend our wonted themes And into glory peep."    — Henry Vaughan, "They are all Gone into the World of Light," 1655

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.