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dark adaptation

American  

noun

Ophthalmology.

  1. the reflex adaptation of the eye to dim light, consisting of a dilatation of the pupil and an increase in the number of functioning rods accompanied by a decrease in the number of functioning cones (opposed to light adaptation).

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of dark adaptation

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

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Dark adaptation is equivalent to sensitizing the retina for faint light.

From Psychology A Study Of Mental Life by Woodworth, Robert 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.