The meaning of Black

adjective

Very bad or unpleasant.

Usage examples:

The place smelled awful

adverb

Awfully; very.

Usage examples:

We're an awful long way from the motorway

verb

Officially or legally prohibit (something).

Usage examples:

Parking is banned around the harbour in summer

noun

An official or legal prohibition.

Usage examples:

A proposed ban on cigarette advertising

noun

A monetary unit of romania, equal to one hundredth of a leu.

Usage examples:

If you want milk you have to ask for it and it costs extra (often 50 bani or 5000 old lei) and is u…

noun

A long rigid piece of wood, metal, or similar material, typically used as an obstruction, fastening, or weapon.

Usage examples:

An iron bar

verb

Fasten (something, especially a door or window) with a bar or bars.

Usage examples:

She bolted and barred the door

preposition

Except for.

Usage examples:

His kids were all gone now, bar one

verb

Make dirty; pollute.

Usage examples:

The dangers of letting industry befoul the environment

verb

Blacken with ingrained dirt.

Usage examples:

The smoke of industry begrimes buildings

verb

Make or become black or dark, especially as a result of burning, decay, or bruising.

Usage examples:

Stone blackened by the soot of ages

verb

To make something black

Usage examples:

For miles around, trees were blackened by the fire.

noun

A list of people or things that are regarded as unacceptable or untrustworthy and should be excluded or avoided.

Usage examples:

He was placed on a blacklist which meant he was unable to get credit

verb

Put on a blacklist.

Usage examples:

Workers were blacklisted after being quoted in the newspaper

verb

To put someone’s name on a list of people who are considered not acceptable, which keeps the person from getting jobs, going certain places, or doing particular things

Usage examples:

The industry blacklisted him for exposing its corruption., the blacklist destroyed his career.

verb

Withdraw from commercial or social relations with (a country, organization, or person) as a punishment or protest.

Usage examples:

We will boycott all banks which take part in the loans scheme

noun

A punitive ban on relations with other bodies, cooperation with a policy, or the handling of goods.

Usage examples:

A boycott of the negotiations

verb

To refuse to buy a product or take part in an activity as a way of expressing strong disapproval

Usage examples:

The union called on its members to boycott the meeting., she organized an economic boycott of the c…

adjective

Involving calamity; catastrophic or disastrous.

Usage examples:

Such calamitous events as fires, hurricanes, and floods

adjective

(of a natural event) large-scale and violent.

Usage examples:

A cataclysmic earthquake

adjective

Causing a lot of destruction, or a sudden, violent change

Usage examples:

These countries are on the brink of cataclysmic famine., a cataclysmic eruption/tsunami/earthquake

adjective

Involving or causing sudden great damage or suffering.

Usage examples:

A catastrophic earthquake

adjective

Causing sudden and very great harm or destruction

Usage examples:

An unchecked increase in the use of fossil fuels could have catastrophic results for the planet., a…

adjective

Used to describe a person, business, or government to which financial organizations are willing to lend money

Usage examples:

Less/more/most creditworthy during a credit crunch, banks are reluctant to lend except to the most …

adjective

With little or no light.

Usage examples:

It's too dark to see much

noun

The absence of light in a place.

Usage examples:

Carolyn was sitting in the dark

verb

Make or become dark or darker.

Usage examples:

The sky was darkening rapidly

verb

To become or make something dark

Usage examples:

[ i ] the sky darkened as thick smoke billowed from the refinery., [ t ] she pulled down the shades…

adjective

Not owing money

Usage examples:

The company's virtually debt-free status gives it the flexibility to consider larger deals.

adjective

Highly destructive or damaging.

Usage examples:

A devastating cyclone

verb

Destroy or ruin.

Usage examples:

The city was devastated by a huge earthquake

adjective

Causing great damage or suffering to something or someone

Usage examples:

Devastating criticisms, it will have a devastating impact on the economy.

adjective

Extremely serious or urgent.

Usage examples:

Misuse of drugs can have dire consequences

adjective

Very serious or extreme

Usage examples:

Cheating will bring dire consequences.

adjective

Extremely bad; dreadful.

Usage examples:

Indeed, he is reaching down to that best-known of lieder schubert published as his opus 1, and rean…

adjective

Very bad or unpleasant

Usage examples:

The direful conflict would soon culminate in civil war., she was overcome by a direful terror that …

adjective

Covered or marked with an unclean substance.

Usage examples:

A tray of dirty cups and saucers

adverb

Used for emphasis.

Usage examples:

A dirty great slab of stone

verb

Make dirty.

Usage examples:

She didn't like him dirtying her nice clean towels

adjective

Causing great damage.

Usage examples:

A disastrous fire swept through the museum

adjective

Causing great harm, damage, or suffering

Usage examples:

It was a disastrous mistake which he lived to regret., in 1837, there was a disastrous smallpox epi…

noun

An official ban on trade or other commercial activity with a particular country.

Usage examples:

An embargo on grain sales

verb

Impose an official ban on (trade or a country or commodity).

Usage examples:

All of these countries have been embargoed by the us

noun

A government order to temporarily stop trading certain goods or with certain countries

Usage examples:

They put an embargo on imports of steel.

adjective

Causing death.

Usage examples:

A fatal accident

adjective

(of illness, accidents, etc.) causing death

Usage examples:

A fatal heart attack, a fatal mistake/flaw, several people were injured, two fatally.

adjective

Having far-reaching and often disastrous consequences or implications.

Usage examples:

A fateful oversight

adjective

Having a very important and often negative effect on the future

Usage examples:

In 1971, president richard nixon made a fateful decision to install tape recorders in the white hou…

adjective

(of something bad) very severe or serious.

Usage examples:

His death was a grievous blow

adjective

Having very serious effects or causing great pain

Usage examples:

It was a grievous head wound, and he was not expected to survive., he was grievously injured.

noun

Dirt ingrained on the surface of something.

Usage examples:

The windows were thick with grime

verb

Blacken or make dirty with grime.

Usage examples:

The windows were grimed like a coal miner's goggles

noun

A layer of dirt on skin or a building

Usage examples:

The building is covered with grime., a grimy face

adjective

As dark as ink.

Usage examples:

The cold inky blackness of a mexican cave

adjective

Colored or covered with ink, or having this appearance

Usage examples:

The inky blue of the night sky

adjective

(of circumstances or conditions) very bad; deplorable.

Usage examples:

The industry is in a lamentable state

adjective

Regrettable

Usage examples:

A lamentable failure of nerve

adjective

(of a person) wretchedly unhappy or uncomfortable.

Usage examples:

Their happiness made anne feel even more miserable

adjective

Very unhappy, or causing much unhappiness

Usage examples:

They can make your life miserable if they want to., the forecast is for miserable weather today.

adjective

Completely dark

Usage examples:

In winter it was already pitch-dark by 5.

adjective

Used to describe a company, product, etc. that makes a profit

Usage examples:

Profit-making business/company/venture she does not see why a profit-making business cannot also be…

adjective

(of a business or activity) yielding profit or financial gain.

Usage examples:

A professionally run and profitable company

verb

Forbid, especially by law.

Usage examples:

Strikes remained proscribed in the armed forces

verb

To forbid an action or practice officially

Usage examples:

The sale of materials that could be used in making nuclear weapons is proscribed by us law.

adjective

Disastrous or destructive.

Usage examples:

A ruinous effect on the environment

noun

A marten with a short tail and dark brown fur, native to japan and siberia and valued for its fur.

Usage examples:

Tradition had it that the island was rich in game (reindeer, polar bears, sables, marten, fish, and…

adjective

Black.

Usage examples:

The sable blackness of her hair

noun

A large african antelope with long curved horns, the male of which has a black coat and the female a russet coat, both having a white belly.

Usage examples:

The 14 species of the game include giraffes, zebras, sables, kudus, elands, impalas, pukus, waterbu…

adjective

Fixed or fastened so as not to give way, become loose, or be lost.

Usage examples:

Check to ensure that all nuts and bolts are secure

verb

Fix or attach (something) firmly so that it cannot be moved or lost.

Usage examples:

Pins secure the handle to the main body

adjective

Free from risk and the threat of change for the worse

Usage examples:

A secure job, people want to feel secure economically., the museum has a large endowment, so its fu…

noun

The upper layer of earth in which plants grow, a black or dark brown material typically consisting of a mixture of organic remains, clay, and rock particles.

Usage examples:

Blueberries need very acid soil

verb

Make dirty.

Usage examples:

He might soil his expensive suit

noun

Waste matter, especially sewage containing excrement.

Usage examples:

Hazardous waste includes contaminated soil, paint, solvent residues, asbestos and highly acidic and…

adjective

Firm and stable in shape; not liquid or fluid.

Usage examples:

The stream was frozen solid

noun

A substance or object that is solid rather than liquid or fluid.

Usage examples:

I was reminded of high school physics where we learned that solids conduct sound better than both l…

adjective

Having a fixed shape that cannot be changed easily

Usage examples:

After flying all night, he was glad to be on solid ground., solid rock, a solid oak table, solid go…

adjective

Having assets in excess of liabilities; able to pay one's debts.

Usage examples:

Interest rate rises have very severe effects on normally solvent companies

noun

The liquid in which a solute is dissolved to form a solution.

Usage examples:

If less solute is added to the solvent then the solution is said to be unsaturated.

adjective

(esp. of companies) having enough money to pay all your debts

Usage examples:

The government should certify the solvency of the companies it regulates.

verb

Mark or discolour with something that is not easily removed.

Usage examples:

Her clothing was stained with blood

noun

A coloured patch or dirty mark that is difficult to remove.

Usage examples:

There were mud stains on my shoes

verb

To leave a mark on something that is difficult to remove, or to become colored or spoiled by a mark

Usage examples:

[ t ] strawberry juice stained my shirt., [ i ] this carpet is practical because it doesn’t stain e…

adjective

Relating to the river styx in greek mythology.

Usage examples:

The stygian crypt

adjective

Extremely and unpleasantly dark

Usage examples:

Stygian gloom

adjective

Extremely bad or serious.

Usage examples:

A terrible crime

adjective

Causing or characterized by extreme distress or sorrow.

Usage examples:

The shooting was a tragic accident

noun

Relating to tragedy in a literary work.

Usage examples:

The same rules apply whether the plot is tragic or comic

adjective

Very sad because connected with death and suffering

Usage examples:

Two men lost their lives in a tragic accident., a tragic actor, tragically, the side effects of the…

adjective

Having or marked by bad fortune; unlucky.

Usage examples:

There'd been an unfortunate accident

noun

A person who suffers bad fortune.

Usage examples:

Those unfortunates whose lives are marred by poverty

adjective

Characterized by, expressive of, or causing sorrow or misery.

Usage examples:

Her face was woeful

adjective

Very bad, or (of something bad) very great or extreme

Usage examples:

They displayed a woeful ignorance of the safety rules.

adjective

(of a person) in a very unhappy or unfortunate state.

Usage examples:

I felt so wretched because i thought i might never see you again

adjective

Unhappy or extremely sad

Usage examples:

He looked so ill and wretched as he spoke that he made me feel wretched myself., workers lived in w…