darken
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to become dark or darker.
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to become obscure.
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to become less white or clear in color.
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to grow clouded, as with gloom or anger.
-
to become blind.
idioms
verb
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to make or become dark or darker
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to make or become gloomy, angry, or sad
his mood darkened
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(usually used with a negative) to visit someone
never darken my door again!
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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darkensimple
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darkenssimple
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have darkenedperfect
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has darkenedperfect
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am darkeningprogressive
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are darkeningprogressive
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is darkeningprogressive
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have been darkeningperfect progressive
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has been darkeningperfect progressive
Past
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darkenedsimple
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had darkenedperfect
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was darkeningprogressive
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were darkeningprogressive
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had been darkeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of darken
First recorded in 1250–1300, darken is from the Middle English word derknen. See dark, -en 1
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.
See Examples For:
Scattered through old Southern community and church cookbooks are recipes for spiced Saltines: butter-soaked, herb-flecked, oven-baked until they darken to a toastier shade of gold.
From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2026
As they cook, the beans darken to a rich brown and begin to release an oil, something Netsi says is a sign of good quality coffee.
From BBC ● May 31, 2026
Both light sources darken skin through the same biological process: UV rays change the structure and chemical profile of DNA in the skin, which then produces more melanin in order to prevent further damage.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
"They also darken the layer by adding iron and carbon, making the regolith's properties more consistent with the observations."
From Science Daily ● May 5, 2026
When I was a boy the white summer sun of Sacramento would darken me so, my T-shirt would seem bleached against my slender dark arms.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
The expansion of plant life darkens the snow and ice, reducing its reflectivity and causing the surrounding area to warm up, triggering ice and snow melt.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
Slowly, the surface darkens into something deeply golden, edged in amber, the fat rendering and crisping, the spice blooming in the oil.
From Salon ● Apr. 10, 2026
Space weathering, caused by solar wind particles, micrometeorite impacts, and cosmic radiation, slowly darkens exposed material.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 8, 2026
Carvana’s fundamentals, however, remain unchanged even as the industry backdrop darkens, Wedbush said.
From Barron's ● Nov. 24, 2025
My vision blurs and darkens, the water changing in front of my eyes, slowly morphing into a black sky, tiny pinpoints of light appearing.
From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott
Over time, darkened wax appeared inside queen cells, showing that workers were selectively collecting and transforming materials from elsewhere in the hive for use in queen development.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026
A sense of injustice, justified or not, would only have darkened their mood.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026
She’s talked up her push to convert darkened streetlights, many of them stripped of their copper wire, to solar power.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026
A survey from the Conference Board, a research group, suggested that consumer sentiment improved this month, countering evidence from another major poll that showed the mood had darkened.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
No clue how long he sits staring at the darkened screen, but soon G’ma’s setting a steaming mug down in front of him.
From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone
"The darkening overlaps exactly with the fern spike, the main extinction interval, and elevated abundance of charcoal and PAHs."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
When he first noticed the sky darkening, Chapman thought a storm was coming.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Reduce the heat to low if the spices are darkening in color too quickly.
From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2026
Abroad, though, interest rates and inflation risks have shot up, fuel is being conserved, and economic forecasts are darkening.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2026
The father sat by the window quietly and followed the movements of a gardener, who was mowing first one, then another, darkening swath across the lawn.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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.
