darkness

[dahrk-nis]

noun

1. the state or quality of being dark.

   The room was in total darkness.

2. absence or deficiency of light.

   the darkness of night.

3. wickedness or evil.

   Satan, the prince of darkness.

4. obscurity; concealment.

   The darkness of the metaphor destroyed its effectiveness.

5. lack of knowledge or enlightenment.

   heathen darkness.

6. lack of sight; blindness.

Other Word Forms

• predarkness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of darkness¹

First recorded before 1050; Middle English derknesse, Old English deorcnysse; equivalent to dark + -ness

Example Sentences

"Looking at the global picture of deforestation, it is dark, but we may be in the darkness before the dawn," she said.

Read more on Barron's

Thirty minutes until curtain, that darkness buzzes with precise, hive-like activity.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Looking for a black hole is like playing hide-and-seek in pitch darkness.

Read more on Space Scoop

It took rescue workers more than 30 hours to reach the site, navigating a blizzard and 24-hour darkness, and an additional two days to rescue the last survivors.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It would leave Scottish commuters and schoolchildren making their winter morning journeys in darkness - bringing increased risks on the roads.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• bleakness www.thesaurus.com
• despair 
• despondency 
• dysphoria 
• gloom 
• grimness www.thesaurus.com
• melancholy 
• morbidity 
• negativity www.thesaurus.com