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

Etymology

Origin of dusky

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

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

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

"The food in Malaysia was really nice and I got to see these monkeys; they're called dusky leaf monkeys. They're so cheeky – they once stole my banana," he said.

From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2026

What I was really craving, I realized, was the dusky, spiced intensity of another fall icon: apple butter.

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2025

Armed with shovels and heavy construction equipment, crews quickly collected fire debris from rugged cliffsides, dusky shorelines and sprawling burnt-out neighborhoods.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2025

The day had been soft and fair, and the evening was pink and gold to the west, a dusky blue over the sea.

From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk

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

Redder and duskier grew the light of the setting sun, till it saddened into the mists of night.

From J. S. Le Fanu's Ghostly Tales, Volume 4 by Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan

And then the clouds took a duskier red, and the solid mass of castle faded away into nothing.

From The Heart of Denise and Other Tales by Levett-Yeats, S. (Sidney)

It is duskier in hue than the East Indian species, being a darkish brown or black, and the taste is more nauseous and intensely bitter.

From The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. by Simmonds, P. L.

It is bordered on either side by bands of a duskier hue, which probably represent shallow transverse valleys.

From The Moon A Full Description and Map of its Principal Physical Features by Elger, Thomas Gwyn

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 Leland, Charles Godfrey

Flowers: white water-lilies, camellias, or the darkest, duskiest, damask roses, and none of these in such profusion as to appear conspicuous.-402-

From Social Life or, The Manners and Customs of Polite Society by Cooke, Maud C.

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 Mackay, Isabel Ecclestone

The two of us held close together, and chose the duskiest thickets, crawling belly-wise over the little clear patches and avoiding the crown of the ridge like the plague.

From Salute to Adventurers by Buchan, John

Related Words

• smoky