darkness

[dahrk-nis]

noun

1. the state or quality of being dark.

   The room was in total darkness.

2. absence or deficiency of light.

   the darkness of night.

3. wickedness or evil.

   Satan, the prince of darkness.

4. obscurity; concealment.

   The darkness of the metaphor destroyed its effectiveness.

5. lack of knowledge or enlightenment.

   heathen darkness.

6. lack of sight; blindness.

Other Word Forms

• predarkness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of darkness¹

First recorded before 1050; Middle English derknesse, Old English deorcnysse; equivalent to dark + -ness

Example Sentences

For all its darkness, Peck insists on leaving a sliver of light.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Spread by erratic, hurricane-force winds, it pushed embers for miles “in darkness and intense smoke.”

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There’s complexity, harmonies and even some darkness and heaviness to some of the best classical music.

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April's outage caused significant disruption for nearly a day when it plunged areas into darkness, cutting internet and telephone connections and halting transport links.

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I felt frantic; a profound sense of powerlessness and loss of balance in the total darkness came over me.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• bleakness www.thesaurus.com
• despair 
• despondency 
• dysphoria 
• gloom 
• grimness www.thesaurus.com
• melancholy 
• morbidity 
• negativity www.thesaurus.com