verb
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to make or become black or dirty
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(tr) to defame; slander (esp in the phrase blacken someone's name )
Other Word Forms
- blackener noun
Etymology
Origin of blacken
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The spill blackened popular beaches, killed wildlife and hurt tourism and fishing.
The fire damaged a corner of one office, leaving the wall, baseboard, carpet and window frames blackened, according to photos viewed by The Times.
From Los Angeles Times
The walls in rooms adjacent to where the fire started were blackened but the fire had not spread, the mayor explained.
From BBC
"They jumped over this wall at 1am with a jerrycan of petrol," Mayor Bakhtiari explains, gesturing to the fleet of seven charred squad cars, their ashen skeletons lined up beneath the blackened façade.
From BBC
The ban, combined with an existing prohibition on fireworks in unincorporated areas, is meant to discourage would-be pyromaniacs from accidentally laying waste to their neighbors’ houses or setting off wildfires that blacken hundreds of acres.
From Seattle Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
