dusky

American  

[duhs-kee] / ˈdʌs ki /

adjective

duskier, duskiest

1. somewhat dark; having little light; dim; shadowy.

2. Older Use: Chiefly Literary. having dark skin.

3. of a dark color.

4. gloomy; sad.

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dusky British  

/ ˈdʌskɪ /

adjective

1. dark in colour; swarthy or dark-skinned

2. dim

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Other Word Forms

• duskiness
  noun
• duskily
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of dusky

First recorded in 1550–60; dusk ² + -y ¹

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Explanation

Something that's dusky is dark or poorly lit, like the dusky walk home from your friend's house at twilight. You can also use this adjective to describe a darker shade of a particular color, like your grandpa's favorite dusky pink roses or the dusky blue of the sky over the ocean just before a storm. Dusky and dusk, or the time just after the sun sets in the evening, come from the Middle English dosc, "obscure, tending to darkness, or shadowy."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dusky duskier duskiest

The dusky shark -- affectionately nicknamed "Bukhangi" by fans -- was spotted last month in an artificial waterway in the southeastern port city, with climate activists linking its appearance to climate change.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

Over the next little while we see eight numbats, including two pairs of babies, blinking at us in the dusky light.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

Michael Chybowski’s bold lighting brought out the rich, dusky hues of Susan Ruddie’s costuming, which suggested South Sea islanders clad in beachwear.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

Smoking in a raffish suit like a film noir baddie with a shock of red hair ready to torch the world, Noble’s Richard employs a dusky, ironic voice to flaying effect.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026

The mare stopped, letting them survey the stones, the willow tree dangling its fingers over the rooftops of the two small mausoleums, the dusky grove of poplars beyond.

From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby

They’re a scene-stealing duo whose comic relief goes a long way toward softening some of the movie’s harsher angles and brightening some of its duskier corners.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 11, 2019

See the dusky shadows creeping over the Highlands, yonder, and their still duskier shadows in the still water.

From Shoulder-Straps A Novel of New York and the Army, 1862 by Henry Morford

It was growing late; the evening air grew more motionless and cool; the russet gold of the sunshine mottled only the hill-tops now; in the valleys there was a duskier brown, deepening every moment.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 08, No. 48, October, 1861 by Various

It has been likened to the appearance of a boiled lobster, but there are numerous minute points of a deeper or duskier hue than the surface generally.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various

For her of duskier lustre Whose favour still I wear, The snow be in her kirtle, The rose be in her hair!

From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 14 (of 25) by Robert Louis Stevenson

The people around Michèle hide their duskiest anxieties deep inside, while all her darkness shimmers on the surface.

From Time ● Nov. 29, 2

But just within the archway, in its duskiest corner, there sat all day a living picture, a dark and handsome woman, apparently p. 289thirty years old, who was unveiled. 

From The Gypsies by Charles Godfrey Leland

Stockport is renowned throughout the entire district as one of the duskiest, smokiest holes, and looks, indeed, especially when viewed from the viaduct, excessively repellent. 

From The Condition of the Working-Class in England in 1844 with a Preface written in 1892 by Florence Kelley

Then with a laugh at her own childishness she "touched wood" to propitiate the jealous fates and ran down stairs to hide herself in the duskiest corner of the veranda.

From Up the Hill and Over by Isabel Ecclestone Mackay

Her the close bewildering greenery Darkens with its duskiest green, - Him each little leaflet welcomes, Flushing with an orient sheen.

From Poems — Volume 1 by George Meredith

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Related Words

• smoky

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