Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Watery or bleary eyes: Describes eyes that are wet, teary, or glistening, often due to strong emotion, illness, or fatigue, causing vision to be blurred.
   • Eyes with a glassy or filmy look: Can refer to eyes that appear shiny and unfocused, typically from fever, drunkenness, or excessive crying.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Cô ấy có đôi mắt nhoèn vì khóc. (Her eyes were watery from crying.)
  • Đứa bé sốt cao, mắt nhoèn nhèo. (The child had a high fever and bleary eyes.)
  • Ông cụ nhìn tôi với đôi mắt nhoèn nước. (The old man looked at me with tear-glistening eyes.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase is often used in descriptive, literary, or colloquial contexts to vividly depict a character's physical or emotional state. It emphasizes a visual, often temporary, condition of the eyes.

Variants and Related Words

• Nhoè nhoẹt (adj): describes something smeared, blurred, or messy (e.g., writing, makeup), sharing the root idea of blurriness.
• Chảy nước mắt (v): to have tears flowing, which is a direct action causing "mắt nhoèn."
• Mắt đỏ ngầu (adj): red and bloodshot eyes, a different but sometimes concurrent condition.

Synonyms

• Tearful: full of tears.
• Bleary: (of eyes) dull and unfocused from sleep or fatigue.
• Watery: filled with or secreting water.
• Glassy: having a fixed, shiny, lifeless appearance.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Mắt nhoèn nhoẹt: an intensified form, emphasizing a very wet, blurry, and messy state of the eyes.
  • Sau trận ốm, mắt anh ta lúc nào cũng nhoèn nhoẹt. (After the illness, his eyes were constantly bleary and wet.)