What does "darken" mean?
To make dark or darker by reducing light.
Darken
/ˈdɑɹkən/ verb
verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To make dark or darker by reducing light.
- Grammar: darken is listed as verb.
- Nearest alternatives: adumbrate, adumbrates, attaint, bandage.
- Useful contrasts: aflaxen, brighter color, floodlit.
- Usage evidence: The sky suddenly began to darken.
How to use "darken"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "darken" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "darken" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "darken" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "darken" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "darken" is acting as verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "adumbrate" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "darken", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To make dark or darker by reducing light. transitive
"[…] they [locusts] covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened […]"
- 2 make dark or darker wordnet
- 3 To become dark or darker (having less light). intransitive
"[…] the owl and the bat flew round the darkening trees:"
- 4 become dark or darker wordnet
- 5 To get dark (referring to the sky, either in the evening or as a result of cloud). impersonal
"Well, I must go in now; and you too: it darkens."
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 tarnish or stain wordnet
- 7 To make dark or darker in colour. transitive
"She puts on lipstick and darkens her eyebrows, which are now very scanty […]"
- 8 To become dark or darker in colour. intransitive
"The lovely hair had lost its rose-gold glimmer, and had darkened to rose-brown […]"
- 9 To render gloomy, darker in mood. transitive
"With these forced thoughts, I prithee, darken not The mirth o’ the feast."
- 10 To become gloomy, darker in mood. intransitive
"1797, Ann Radcliffe, The Italian, London: T. Cadell Jun[ior] and W. Davies, Volume 2, Chapter 9, p. 303, His countenance darkened while he spoke […]"
- 11 To blind, impair the eyesight. transitive
"Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see […]"
- 12 To be blinded, lose one’s eyesight. intransitive
- 13 To cloud, obscure, or perplex; to render less clear or intelligible. transitive
"Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?"
- 14 To make foul; to sully; to tarnish. transitive
"I must not think there are Evils enow to darken all his goodness:"
- 15 To be extinguished or deprived of vitality, to die. intransitive
"The Danube to the Severn gave The darken’d heart that beat no more; They laid him by the pleasant shore, And in the hearing of the wave."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The sky suddenly began to darken."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "darken"?
Common synonyms include: adumbrate, adumbrates, attaint, bandage, beat down, becloud.
How do you use "darken" in a sentence?
The sky suddenly began to darken.
How do you pronounce "darken"?
Pronounced /ˈdɑɹkən/.
Etymology
From Middle English derkenen, dirkenen, from Old English *deorcnian, *diercnian (“to darken”), from Proto-West Germanic *dirkinōn (“to darken”), equivalent to dark + -en. Cognate with Scots derken, durken (“to darken”), Old High German tarchanjan, terchinen (“to darken”), Middle High German terken, derken (“to darken”).