darken
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to become dark or darker.
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to become obscure.
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to become less white or clear in color.
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to grow clouded, as with gloom or anger.
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to become blind.
idioms
verb
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to make or become dark or darker
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to make or become gloomy, angry, or sad
his mood darkened
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(usually used with a negative) to visit someone
never darken my door again!
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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darkensimple
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darkenssimple
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have darkenedperfect
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has darkenedperfect
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am darkeningprogressive
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are darkeningprogressive
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is darkeningprogressive
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have been darkeningperfect progressive
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has been darkeningperfect progressive
Past
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darkenedsimple
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had darkenedperfect
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was darkeningprogressive
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were darkeningprogressive
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had been darkeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of darken
First recorded in 1250–1300, darken is from the Middle English word derknen. See dark, -en 1
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.
Appeared in the October 6, 2025, print edition as 'Federal Buyouts Further Darken Job Picture'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 4, 2025
“Time Will Darken It” may be principally the story of Austin King, but he isn’t exactly the protagonist.
From New York Times • Aug. 23, 2021
This observation occurs roughly two-thirds of the way through “Time Will Darken It,” William Maxwell’s 1948 novel about family discord and communal scandal in early-20th-century small-town Illinois.
From New York Times • Aug. 23, 2021
“Time Will Darken It” takes place quite a bit later, in 1912, a moment so far out of reach for the reader that Maxwell invokes not history, but archaeology.
From New York Times • Aug. 23, 2021
Darken each thick bed of bloom Come away!
From Heathen Mythology by Various
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.
