dark

1 of 3

adjective

ˈdärk

darker; darkest

: devoid or partially devoid of light : not receiving, reflecting, transmitting, or radiating light

a dark room

: transmitting only a portion of light

dark glasses

: wholly or partially black

dark clothing

of a color : of low or very low lightness

dark blue

: being less light in color than other substances of the same kind

dark rum

: arising from or showing evil traits or desires : evil

the dark powers that lead to war

: dismal, gloomy

had a dark view of the future

: lacking knowledge or culture : unenlightened

a dark period in history

: relating to grim or depressing circumstances

dark humor

: not clear to the understanding

: not known or explored because of remoteness

the darkest reaches of the continent

: intense in color, coloring, or pigmentation : not light or fair

dark hair

a dark complexion

: secret

kept his plans dark

: possessing depth and richness

a dark voice

: closed to the public

the theater is dark in the summer

darkish

ˈdär-kish

adjective

darkly adverb

dark

2 of 3

noun

: a place or time of little or no light : night, nightfall

get home before dark

: absence of light : darkness

afraid of the dark

: a color of low or very low lightness : a dark or deep color

—usually plural

a painter who uses a lot of darks

darks plural : clothing that is dark in color

separated the darks and the lights before starting the laundry

dark

3 of 3

verb

darked; darking; darks

intransitive verb

obsolete : to grow dark (see dark entry 1)

transitive verb

: to make dark

Phrases

in the dark

: in secrecy

most of his dealings were done in the dark

: in ignorance

kept the public in the dark about the agreement

go dark

: to become dark

The room suddenly went dark.

: to stop operating or functioning : to shut down

Most Salt Lake City restaurants go dark on Sundays …

Kurt Repanshek

Andy Beal was one of 220 million subscribers to Skype … who saw the service go dark on Aug. 16.

Stephen Baker

In the end, the heart stops, the cells die, the neurons go dark …

Joshua Ferris

communications : to stop broadcasting or transmitting : to go offline

The roosters were just beginning to crow in that lost hour before dawn when Lt. Col. Steve Russell of the Army's 4th Infantry Division ordered his men to "go dark" and roll their Humvees up to the edge of a lone farmhouse here.

William Booth

Choose the Right Synonym for dark

obscure, dark, vague, enigmatic, cryptic, ambiguous, equivocal mean not clearly understandable.

obscure implies a hiding or veiling of meaning through some inadequacy of expression or withholding of full knowledge.

obscure poems

dark implies an imperfect or clouded revelation often with ominous or sinister suggestion.

muttered dark hints of revenge

vague implies a lack of clear formulation due to inadequate conception or consideration.

a vague sense of obligation

enigmatic stresses a puzzling, mystifying quality.

enigmatic occult writings

cryptic implies a purposely concealed meaning.

cryptic hints of hidden treasure

ambiguous applies to language capable of more than one interpretation.

an ambiguous directive

equivocal applies to language left open to differing interpretations with the intention of deceiving or evading.

moral precepts with equivocal phrasing

Example Sentences

Adjective She sat in the dark room alone. Soon it will be dark enough to see the stars. It was a dark and stormy night. Dark clouds of smoke were coming from the windows. She's wearing a dark suit to the interview. a man wearing dark clothing You've got dark circles under your eyes this morning. dark spots on the skin Noun He's 12 years old and still afraid of the dark. The burglars hid in the dark between the two buildings. He bought the kids special rings that glow in the dark. We'd better get home before dark. They waited until after dark to begin their escape. He uses lots of darks in his decorating. Wash the lights and the darks separately. See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The third and final season of Netflix’s dark buddy comedy, starring Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini, saw the partners in literal and figurative crime grow closer than ever as Cardellini’s character navigated a terminal cancer diagnosis.

Mikey O'connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Nov. 2022 For instance, Lightfoot compared her opponents in the 2019 mayoral race to cockroaches scurrying in the dark following revelations that Ald.

Gregory Pratt, Chicago Tribune, 20 Nov. 2022 The three suspects wore identical Halloween-like masks and were dressed in dark, shapeless clothing, authorities said, urging residents to be vigilant.

John R. Ellement, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Nov. 2022 Glow-in-the-dark planets by The Original Glow Stars Company, $24.

Barbara Haddock Taylor, Baltimore Sun, 14 Nov. 2022 Lighting designers live in the dark, shining light on others.

Brian Seibert, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2022 While a few businesses are transparent regarding their data processing, many keep consumers in the dark, retain control over sharing and seek implied instead of informed consent.

Tony Fitzgibbon, Forbes, 10 Nov. 2022 The result is a lamp with a balanced feel that’s 35 grams lighter than its predecessor and can last long enough for an evening of running in the dark when set to energy-saving reactive mode.

Joe Jackson, Outside Online, 10 Nov. 2022 The rest will go to shareholders kept in the dark while executives tried to prevent allegations from becoming public and at least one benefited by unloading shares before news broke.

Brian Melley, Fortune, 4 Nov. 2022

Noun

Power has been restored to Reser Stadium, but the rest of the campus is still in the dark, the school said around 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

oregonlive, 26 Nov. 2022 At the Kyiv hospital, surgeons donned headlamps and continued to work in the dark.

Oleg Matsnev Marc Santora Thomas Gibbons-neff Alan Rappeport Marc Santora Richard Pérez-peña John Ismay Gaia Pianigiani Andrew Higgins, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2022 Out of the dark in your rearview mirror comes a huge SUV, barreling past like it’s 72 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny.

Dan Neil, WSJ, 21 Nov. 2022 But the rules allow countries to designate any amount of information about their carbon market as confidential, essentially putting the whole process in the dark.

Tim Mcdonnell, Quartz, 18 Nov. 2022 Nearly 500,000 homes and businesses were still in the dark in Florida early Tuesday after the storm knocked out power and left many without clean tap water.

Aya Elamroussi, CNN, 4 Oct. 2022 The Mexican newspaper Diario Frontera posted a picture of people sitting in line in the dark in front of a plasma center in Brownsville, Texas.

Stefanie Dodt, ProPublica, 20 Sep. 2022 More than 500,000 power customers were in the dark in Indiana during the worst part of the storm Monday night, although the number had dropped to about 4,000 by Tuesday afternoon.

John Bacon, USA TODAY, 30 Aug. 2022 As a bonus, the nights are now getting longer, and the Milky Way and its bright galactic centre are visible just after dark in the southern sky.

Jamie Carter, Forbes, 14 Aug. 2022

Verb

For a partnership with Moncler, for example, characters' outfits changed from light to dark depending on their altitude, a nod to the Italian company's alpine roots — a creative twist that physical designers would be hard-pressed to achieve.

Jacqui Palumbo, CNN, 22 Nov. 2022 With foliage ranging from bright lime green to dark purple depending on the variety, trailing sweet potato vines can add a welcome color contrast to your container.

Terri Robertson, Country Living, 1 Aug. 2022 Chard: Chard can be light to dark green, with stems in colors from white to pink to orange to red.

Sheena Chihak, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 July 2022 Imagine the room at noon, with maximum sunlight pouring in—where does the light fall and where would dark furniture or fixtures be most visible?

Nafeesah Allen, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 July 2022 The power of light turning to dark and then light again.

Terry Pluto, cleveland, 23 July 2022 From strawberry blonde and pastels to dark sultry red, there's no shortage of options.

Allure, 20 Apr. 2022 From dinnertime to dark every Wednesday in Livonia, enjoy a car show with food and music.

Layla Mcmurtrie, Detroit Free Press, 6 June 2022 As the distorted guitar sets in, the room switches to dark with glowing lights illuminating the performance.

Izzy Colón, SPIN, 23 Mar. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dark.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.