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

I felt frantic; a profound sense of powerlessness and loss of balance in the total darkness came over me.

From Salon

She added: “When you’ve been up here so long, you get used to the quiet and the darkness.”

From Los Angeles Times

He pretended to be dead and then managed to crawl back to his regiment under the cover of darkness.

From BBC

As darkness fell, the first vehicles were eventually allowed to leave the massive police cordon.

From BBC

The boisterous buzz makes it an essential part of the day for fans, who arrive in morning darkness to stake their spot, while latecomers, irked at missing out, slope off down the fairway.

From BBC

Related Words

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