blackly

American  

[blak-lee] / ˈblæk li /

adverb

1. darkly; gloomily.

2. wickedly.

   a plot blackly contrived to wreak vengeance.

3. angrily.

   blackly refusing to yield to reason.

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Etymology

Origin of blackly

First recorded in 1555–65; black + -ly

Example Sentences

A well-built, blackly comic morality play for which he stayed behind the camera, it’s among both his less metafictional endeavors and his most conventionally absorbing.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 15, 2025

It’s a showdown on the edge of an abyss or, from a blackly comic point of view, the grimmest edition ever of that old surprise-reunion show “This Is Your Life.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 25, 2025

The film, a blackly comic feminist revenge thriller starring Carey Mulligan, was one of the most talked about movies of 2020.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 7, 2023

Papushado, who garnered acclaim as a co-director of the blackly comic thriller “Big Bad Wolves,” is clearly a movie buff, and “Gunpowder Milkshake” feels like a composite of cinephile-friendly references.

From New York Times • Jul. 14, 2021

I toy with shouting some tidbit more—some terrifying, unthinkable threat, some blackly fuliginous riddling hex—but my heart’s not in it.

From "Grendel" by John Gardner