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 breadcrumb shards that blackened and caramelized at the edges of the sheet pan.
From Salon
An AFP journalist on the ground reported burnt carpets, broken front doors, walls and windows blackened by fire.
From Barron's
On either side lie two run-down empty tower blocks, replete with broken windows and walls blackened by fire damage.
From BBC
But amid the smoke still rising from its blackened edges hundreds of spiders were crawling.
From Literature
"People come and buy three sacks to be prepared for when there's no electricity," said Agosto, his hands blackened from filling, stacking, and arranging the sacks on the side of the road.
From Barron's
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.
