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dark cloud

American  
[dahrk klaud] / ˈdɑrk ˈklaʊd /

noun

plural

dark clouds

  1. Astronomy. dark nebula.

  2. something that generates gloom, distrust, or some other oppressive feeling or condition related to a person, thing, or event.

dark cloud Scientific  
/ därk /

  1. See absorption nebula

Other Word Forms

  • dark-cloud adjective

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 pattern started with some dubious candlesticks in the fourth quarter, featuring a dark cloud cover on Oct.

From Barron's • Mar. 18, 2026

While the store’s events are often bursting with energy, those moments are still tainted by an “underlying fear that is kind of like a dark cloud among our community,” Lima said.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2026

A jury heard Baird, who worked at an opticians, left a note to her family which said a "dark cloud" was over her.

From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026

The increase casts a dark cloud on an improving cancer landscape.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026

The life-like movement would scare them off for a moment so that they made a dark cloud round the head.

From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding

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.