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 three-metre "dusky" shark, a species typically found in tropical climates, amassed a huge following, drawing more than 1.6 million people to the Busan canal for a glimpse.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 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

"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

I walk out the back door and stand in the fading, dusky sunlight.

From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King

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

The ocean ahead and around was the duskier for the spectral illumination of the near foam and the glimmer of the ice-coated ship.

From The Frozen Pirate by W. Clark (William Clark) Russell

But the duskier it grew, the more did Pluto’s visage assume an air of satisfaction.

From The Children's Hour, Volume 3 (of 10) by Various

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 P. L. Simmonds

It began to get duskier and duskier as we sank lower and lower; but still we could see pretty well, for it’s astonishing how much light comes down through water.

From A Chosen Few Short Stories by Frank Richard Stockton

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

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 John Buchan

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 Maud C. Cooke

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Related Words

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