dark

[ dahrk ]

/ dɑrk /

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See synonyms for: dark / darked / darker / darkest on Thesaurus.com

adjective, dark·er, dark·est.

having very little or no light: a dark room.

radiating, admitting, or reflecting little light: a dark color.

approaching black in hue: a dark brown.

not pale or fair; swarthy: a dark complexion.

brunette; dark-colored: dark eyebrows.

having brunette hair: She's dark but her children are blond.

(of coffee) containing only a small amount of milk or cream.

gloomy; cheerless; dismal: the dark days of World War II.

sullen; frowning: a dark expression.

evil; iniquitous; wicked: a dark plot.

destitute of knowledge or culture; unenlightened.

hard to understand; obscure.

hidden; secret.

silent; reticent.

(of a theater) offering no performances; closed: The theaters in this town are dark on Sundays.

Phonetics.

(of an l-sound) having back-vowel resonance; situated after a vowel in the same syllable.Compare clear (def. 24a).
(of a speech sound) of dull quality; acoustically damped.

noun

the absence of light; darkness: I can't see well in the dark.

night; nightfall: Please come home before dark.

a dark place.

a dark color.

verb (used with object)

to make dark; darken.

verb (used without object)

Obsolete. to grow dark; darken.

OTHER WORDS FOR dark

4 dusky, black.

12 recondite, abstruse.

See synonyms for dark on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR dark

1 lighted.

2 bright.

8 cheerful.

9 pleasant.

12 clear.

See antonyms for dark on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about dark

in the dark,

in ignorance; uninformed: He was in the dark about their plans for the evening.
in secrecy; concealed; obscure.

keep dark, to keep as a secret; conceal: They kept their political activities dark.

Origin of dark

before 1000; (adj.) Middle English derk,Old English deorc; (noun and v.) Middle English, derivative of the adj.; compare Middle High German terken to darken, hide

synonym study for dark

1. Dark, dim, obscure, gloomy, murky refer to absence or insufficiency of light. Dark implies a more or less complete absence of light: a dark night. Dim implies faintness of light or indistinctness of form (resulting from the lack of light or from imperfect vision): a dim outline. Obscure implies dimness that may arise also from factors that interfere with light or vision: obscure because of haze. Gloomy means cloudy, ill-lighted, dusky: a gloomy hall. Murky implies a thick or misty darkness: murky water.

OTHER WORDS FROM dark

non·dark, adjectivepre·dark, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use dark in a sentence

What could have sustained him during these darkest of hours?
The Catholic Philosopher Who Took on Hitler|John Henry Crosby|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In celebration of the darkest of Black Fridays, she just released a new single, “Pietà.”
Is Bigger Better for St. Vincent?|David Yaffe|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The 2014 midterms were the darkest election yet for congressional races.
Fake Charities Could Pick Our Next President|Robert Maguire|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I lay on my back, frozen, unable to avoid thinking the darkest thoughts.
Robin Williams and Christopher Reeve's Epic Friendship and the Greatest Williams Story Ever Told|Marlow Stern|August 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST

We have been led by these lizards into some of the darkest moral dead-ends in our entire history as a people.
Ahmed Abu Khattala Arrest Spoils GOP’s Benghazi Party|Michael Tomasky|June 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was the darkest hour of twilight, when there was just enough of gleam from the lurid sky, to shew the outline of objects.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
Quiet as a mouse he took off his wet clothes, and put them in the darkest corner of the big closet.
Seven O'Clock Stories|Robert Gordon Anderson
The strong, pure woman of the early day must have had many to imitate her virtues in the darkest times of the Empire.
The Private Life of the Romans|Harold Whetstone Johnston
The first precipitate was largest, darkest in color, and carried down more tarry matter.
Some Constituents of the Poison Ivy Plant: (Rhus Toxicodendron)|William Anderson Syme
Miss Brown's sitting-room was a pleasant place even on the darkest day.
The Story of the Big Front Door|Mary Finley Leonard

British Dictionary definitions for dark

dark

/ (dɑːk) /

adjective

having little or no lighta dark street

(of a colour) reflecting or transmitting little lightdark brown Compare light 1 (def. 29), medium (def. 2)

(of complexion, hair colour, etc) not fair or blond; swarthy; brunette
(in combination)dark-eyed

gloomy or dismal

sinister; evila dark purpose

sullen or angrya dark scowl

ignorant or unenlighteneda dark period in our history

secret or mysteriouskeep it dark

phonetics denoting an (l) pronounced with a velar articulation giving back vowel resonance. In English, l is usually dark when final or preconsonantalCompare light 1 (def. 30)

go dark stock exchange informal (of a company) to remove itself from the register of major exchanges while continuing to trade

noun

absence of light; darkness

night or nightfall

a dark place, patch, or shadow

a state of ignorance (esp in the phrase in the dark)

verb

an archaic word for darken

Derived forms of dark

darkish, adjectivedarkly, adverbdarkness, noun

Word Origin for dark

Old English deorc; related to Old High German terchennen to hide

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with dark

dark

In addition to the idioms beginning with dark

darken someone's door
dark horse

also see:

in the dark
keep someone in the dark
leap in the dark
shot in the dark
whistle in the dark

dark

OTHER WORDS FOR dark

OPPOSITES FOR dark

Idioms about dark

Origin of dark

synonym study for dark

OTHER WORDS FROM dark

Words related to dark

How to use dark in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dark

Derived forms of dark

Word Origin for dark

Other Idioms and Phrases with dark