dark

[ dahrk ]

/ dɑrk /

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.

SYNONYMS FOR dark

4 dusky, black.

12 recondite, abstruse.

See synonyms for dark on Thesaurus.com

ANTONYMS FOR dark

1 lighted.

2 bright.

8 cheerful.

9 pleasant.

12 clear.

See antonyms for dark on Thesaurus.com

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Idioms for 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. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for dark

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
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

Obviously, the darkest corners of the Internet are rife with Flight 370 conspiracies.
The Craziest Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Conspiracy Theories|Caitlin Dickson|March 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There is always more of rainbow than of storm in his skies; their darkest shadow is but a tragic twilight.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 4|Various
He was also a man of the darkest shade, tall, intellect good, and wore a pleasant countenance.
The Underground Railroad|William Still
By this time you are no doubt mourning me as hopelessly lost in the wilds of darkest Deanery.
Grace Harlowe's Golden Summer|Jessie Graham Flower
The lightest value is light , and the darkest is middle value , an average range of three steps slightly above middle value.
Industrial Arts Design|William H. Varnum
But the darkest day of all was when the lot fell upon Cleodolinda, the king's only daughter.
In God's Garden|Amy Steedman

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

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

MEANINGS

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WORD OF THE DAY

dark

adjective, dark·er, dark·est.

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

SYNONYMS FOR dark

ANTONYMS FOR dark

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Idioms for dark

Origin of dark

synonym study for dark

OTHER WORDS FROM dark

Example sentences from the Web for dark

British Dictionary definitions for dark

adjective

noun

verb

Derived forms of dark

Word Origin for dark

Idioms and Phrases with dark

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

dark

adjective, dark·er, dark·est.

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

SYNONYMS FOR dark

ANTONYMS FOR dark

QUIZZES

LEARN THE SPANISH WORDS FOR THESE COMMON ANIMALS!

Idioms for dark

Origin of dark

synonym study for dark

OTHER WORDS FROM dark

Words related to dark

Example sentences from the Web for dark

British Dictionary definitions for dark

adjective

noun

verb

Derived forms of dark

Word Origin for dark

Idioms and Phrases with dark