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
Etymology
Origin of blacken
Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at black, -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.
A new scientific review suggests that Polygonum multiflorum, a root used in traditional Chinese medicine for more than a thousand years to "blacken hair and nourish essence," could be a promising alternative for managing AGA.
From Science Daily • Feb. 9, 2026
These incidents may temporarily blacken the eyes of the NBA and Major League Baseball but sports gambling is here to stay.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025
Other than that, their meat was a pinch drier than some of the other methods, and their skin got crispy in spots but began to blacken in others before it could become consistently golden.
From Salon • Feb. 12, 2022
They’ll take anywhere from three to seven days to blacken, depending on how warm your kitchen is.
From New York Times • Aug. 6, 2021
If it’s a multiple choice test, I choose both “A” and “B,” although considering the crew, I may just blacken in choice “D” with my number two pencil.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
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.
