Darkside
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The side of something that is in darkness or unlit, or has less illumination. countable
"She checked their orbital position. She would have perhaps ten more minutes in darkside. The earth itself was a massive radiation shield between the station and the sun, and she would be perfectly safe."
- 2 The side of something that is metaphorically dark, i.e. evil, distressing or otherwise undesirable; the negative aspect of something. countable, figuratively
"Near-synonym: downside"
- 3 Synonym of farside (“the side of a moon that faces away from the planet that it orbits”). countable, uncountable
"He did not give a damn; he had his own problems and considerations and, besides, the BUTTON and he would settle this once and for all on the fifth go-round and then he would press the BUTTON, on the darkside, let them sweat out this one and think they were getting through to him and the two of them would head back for Earth and a generation of peace and celebration."
- 4 Synonym of nightside (“the side of a planet that faces away from the sun around which it orbits”). countable, uncountable
"Terraport would be in darkside now, and her great lights would be fused into a single tiny eye winking mockery at him – if he chose to slide back his porthole screen."
- 5 A style of electronic music, being a form of hardcore characterized by discordant sounds. uncountable
"The label closely observed the shifts in techno during the 90s, being a staple source of ‘darkside’ hardcore in 1992."
Example
More examples"She checked their orbital position. She would have perhaps ten more minutes in darkside. The earth itself was a massive radiation shield between the station and the sun, and she would be perfectly safe."
Etymology
From dark + side. Sense 2.1 (“side that is evil”) was popularized by the film Star Wars (1977; later retitled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope) where the term was used to describe the aspect of a metaphysical power called the Force which could be used to act aggressively and perpetrate evil.
Related phrases
More for "darkside"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.