[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/cataract/)

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# cataract

noun (a cataract, cataracts)

«cataract» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A cataract is a cloudy patch in the lens of the eye that makes things look blurry; it is common in older people and can be fixed by an operation. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cataract/#m1)
2. A cataract is also a large, powerful waterfall or a stretch of rough, rushing water in a river, like the cataracts of the River Nile. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cataract/#m2)

### In the lessons

In science and health lessons, cataracts explain how the clear lens of the eye helps us see, and how doctors can replace a cloudy lens with a plastic one. In geography and history, the cataracts of the Nile were rocky rapids that boats in ancient Egypt could not easily pass. In family life, a grandparent may «have a cataract operation». Phrases: «cataract operation», «cataract surgery», «the Nile cataracts».

### Examples

- Grandma had a cataract operation and can see clearly again. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cataract/#x1)
- Cataracts make things look foggy. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cataract/#x2)
- The doctor said Grandad has a cataract in his left eye. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cataract/#x3)
- The boat could not sail past the cataract on the Nile. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cataract/#x4)
- The cataract roared as the river fell over the rocks. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cataract/#x5)
- Dogs can get cataracts too. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cataract/#x6)
- After the cataract was removed, colours looked brighter. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cataract/#x7)
- The waves of all the world seemed to whirl past them in one huge, green cataract. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cataract/#x8)

### Note

Countable noun: a cataract, cataracts. It is not a skin on the eye; it is clouding inside the lens. Pronounced «KAT-a-rakt».

## In Jewish tradition

Here it means a rushing waterfall or channel of falling water, not an eye disease.

**Interpretation.** The psalmist feels overwhelmed by troubles, like deep waters crashing over him. Commentators read it as the sense of being swept by God's powerful waves, yet still calling to Him.

### Examples

- Deep calleth unto deep at the voice of Thy cataracts; all Thy waves and Thy billows are gone over me. (Writings PSA.42.8, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/C/cataract/#x1)

### Note

Countable noun: a cataract, cataracts. It is not a skin on the eye; it is clouding inside the lens. Pronounced «KAT-a-rakt».

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «cataract» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cataract/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«cataract» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/cataract.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of «cataract» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/C/cataract/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«cataract» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/cataract.html) on Mova free.