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I've been looking at various forums with people proposing suggestions, but is there a consensus on what the collective noun is for "clouds"?

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That's the sort of question that invites fanciful answers! A vagueness of clouds, perhaps? An accumulation of clouds? – Barrie England Oct 5 '11 at 7:34
Well you do get a cloud of seafowls, starlings and bats (users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/collnoun.htm), but I can't find a collective noun for clouds themselves. – Urbycoz Oct 5 '11 at 7:43
Here are a few suggestions- some sensible, some less so. all-sorts.org/nouns/clouds – Urbycoz Oct 5 '11 at 7:45
@Urbycoz - Saw that list. A "sky" of clouds I don't think works. It's like saying a "sea" of fish. And I find it hard to imagine a "storm" of small fluffy clouds for instance. – death_au Oct 5 '11 at 7:52
@death_au Fair enough. Don't think you'll do any better than that though. – Urbycoz Oct 5 '11 at 8:23
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3 Answers

up vote 7 down vote accepted

I don't know if there's some technical term used by meteorologists, but I think I'd instinctively say a "group" of clouds unless something more poetic was called for.

Remember it is OK to use plain, easily understood words when the fancy ones don't buy you anything. This reminds me of the pointless list of rarely used collective nouns for animals that some people think it's vitally important to their well-being to memorise.

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Finally! Yes, "contrived" is the word - unless you're writing poetry. (And perhaps even then.) – Henrik Erlandsson Aug 3 '12 at 11:29
up vote 5 down vote

I'd say it depends what kind of clouds they are (wispy, thick, black etc.) and what they are doing (moving slowly/quickly, thinning, thickening etc.). One possible collective term is a "scud" of clouds - meaning fast-moving, loose, vapoury clouds. I'm sure many more exist - I will edit if I think of them.

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up vote 3 down vote

There's no consensus, but The Collective Nouns Page gives us a souffle of clouds.

All Sorts has:

  • a pageant of clouds
  • a sky of clouds
  • a storm of clouds
  • a fuck of clouds
  • a cumulonimbus of clouds
  • a menagerie of clouds
  • a cling of clouds

Answers.com suggests a scurry, a soufle and a sea of clouds.

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A menagerie of clouds is what I've always called them. – Dugan May 7 at 3:03

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