darkness

[dahrk-nis]

See more synonyms for darkness on Thesaurus.com

noun

the state or quality of being dark: The room was in total darkness.
absence or deficiency of light: the darkness of night.
wickedness or evil: Satan, the prince of darkness.

obscurity; concealment: The darkness of the metaphor destroyed its effectiveness.
lack of knowledge or enlightenment: heathen darkness.
lack of sight; blindness.

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Origin of darkness

before 1050; Middle English derknesse, Old English deorcnysse. See dark, -ness

Related formspre·dark·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

gloom obscurity dusk dark blackness twilight isolation seclusion secrecy duskiness murk murkiness eclipse shadiness dimness shade nightfall cloudiness blackout crepuscule

Examples from the Web for darkness

Contemporary Examples

And then that chorus kicks in, and the young lady formerly known as Lizzy Grant transforms into the princess of darkness.
The 14 Best Songs of 2014: Bobby Shmurda, Future Islands, Drake, and More
Marlow Stern
December 31, 2014
The city of Stanleyville—now called Kisangani—was a majestic port city as deep as one can go into the Heart of Darkness.
The Congo's Forgotten Colonial Getaway
Nina Strochlic
December 18, 2014
But when the darkness closes in, we actually run to fairy tales and fables.
On Torture, Chuck Johnson & Sondheim
James Poulos
December 13, 2014
They pulled up in unmarked cars and on motorcycles, appearing en masse out of the darkness.
Eric Garner Protests: ‘It’s Like Vietnam’
Abby Haglage, Caitlin Dickson, Jacob Siegel, Chris Allbritton
December 5, 2014
Instead, it would return European civilization back to a period of darkness not witnessed since the Middle Ages.
How WWI Produced the Holocaust
J.P. O’Malley
November 21, 2014

Historical Examples

The darkness of a terrible storm hid it from the eye of man.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
There was good feed all around, but we could not, from the darkness, find any water.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest
"She won't be married," he whispered to himself in the darkness.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
She saw it was reasonable: what fellowship can light have with darkness, or love with starvation?
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
How was ever such a child of the darkness to come to love the light?
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald

Word Origin and History for darkness

n.

Old English deorcnysse, from dark + -ness. Figurative use is recorded from mid-14c.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper