Etymology
Origin of blackness
A Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at black, -ness
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.
"What struck me wasn't necessarily just Earth, it was all the blackness around it. Earth was just this lifeboat hanging undisturbingly in the universe," said Koch.
From Barron's • Apr. 11, 2026
For white authors and readers, Morrison argued, blackness has been more metaphoric than real, a signifier of certain behavioral expectations.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 10, 2026
She continued up Lake Avenue, then suddenly plunged into blackness.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2025
All eyewitnesses like Samia* can say for certain is that the lights went out suddenly, plunging D Chowk, the square where they had gathered, into blackness.
From BBC • Nov. 29, 2024
“Through here,” I said, pointing into the blackness of the trees.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
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.
