darkness

American

[dahrk-nis] / ˈdɑrk nɪs /

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.

Other Word Forms

predarkness noun

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."

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing darkness

Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ness

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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.

But not every energy target will meet that standard, and the military benefit doesn’t justify plunging 90 million people into darkness.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

Pacific time, it will be the sun’s turn to get eclipsed by the moon, with the spacecraft plunging into the darkness of the moon’s shadow for an hour.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2026

The iconic photograph taken by astronaut William Anders captured the bright blue Earth against the vast darkness of space, with the Moon's cratered surface in the foreground.

From Barron's • Apr. 5, 2026

For about 40 minutes, the four astronauts will be alone, each with their own thoughts and feelings, travelling through the darkness of space.

From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026

I’ve sensed the light changing through the cracks in the floorboards, darkness to daylight and back again.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023