blacken

American

[blak-uhn] / ˈblæk ən /

verb (used with object)

to make black; darken.
to speak evil of; defame.

to blacken a person's reputation.

Synonyms:

calumniate, traduce, libel, slander, smear, denigrate

verb (used without object)

to grow or become black.

blacken British

/ ˈblækən /

verb

to make or become black or dirty
(tr) to defame; slander (esp in the phrase blacken someone's name )

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

blackener

noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of blacken

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at black, -en ¹

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.

Thus, for that they themself lacken courage, They folk exciten by their wicked saws For to rebell against me, and my laws!

From Fifteenth Century Prose and Verse by Various

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