darkness
Americannoun
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darkness
plural
-
the state or quality of being dark.
The room was in total darkness.
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absence or deficiency of light.
the darkness of night.
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wickedness or evil.
Satan, the prince of darkness.
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obscurity; concealment.
The darkness of the metaphor destroyed its effectiveness.
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lack of knowledge or enlightenment.
heathen darkness.
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lack of sight; blindness.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of darkness
First recorded before 1050; Middle English derknesse, Old English deorcnysse; equivalent to dark + -ness
Explanation
The complete (or partial) absence of light is darkness. If you've ever lost power in your house during a nighttime storm, you know what it's like to be suddenly engulfed in darkness. There are degrees of darkness, from the complete darkness of the woods on a moonless night to the darkness of a room lit by candlelight. Darkness is open to interpretation, since it's defined as a lack of light. There's also a figurative darkness, which can represent wickedness, sadness, ignorance, or simply mystery: "The details of their adventures would remain in darkness, unless one of them wrote a book someday."
Vocabulary lists containing darkness
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.
Fewer hours of darkness means the birds eat more and therefore reach a higher slaughter weight.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
Their darkness and surreality narrow your attention and enhance your connection to their stunning, futuristic artifacts, turning a familiar experience into a thrilling journey.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
I hailed a passing cab and we sped the dozen blocks to the restaurant, which glowed in the darkness ahead like a lighthouse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
But it's at night, in the quiet darkness, that mother-of-three Dianyra Eka Nastiti grows most fearful.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
He thought of the thousands and thousands of tree-souls thronging the darkness: waiting for him, and him alone, to deliver them from the bear.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
