Dark - English meaning

adjective

Causing moral revulsion.

Usage examples:

The uprising was suppressed with abominable cruelty

adjective

Unequivocally detestable

adjective

Very bad or unpleasant

Usage examples:

The abominable working conditions made many workers sick.

adjective

Difficult to understand; obscure.

Usage examples:

An abstruse philosophical inquiry

adjective

Not known or understood by many people

Usage examples:

An abstruse philosophical essay

adjective

Understood by few; mysterious or secret.

Usage examples:

Arcane procedures for electing people

adjective

Horrifyingly wicked.

Usage examples:

Atrocious cruelties

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

adjective

Of the very darkest colour owing to the absence of or complete absorption of light; the opposite of white.

Usage examples:

Black smoke

verb

Belonging to or denoting any human group having dark-coloured skin, especially of african or australian aboriginal ancestry.

Usage examples:

Black adolescents of jamaican descent

noun

Another term for hamburger.

noun

The property or quality of being black in colour.

Usage examples:

It restores grey hair to blackness

noun

The quality of being very dark

Usage examples:

In such complete blackness, we couldn’t see a thing.

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

Kept secret or done secretively, especially because illicit.

Usage examples:

She deserved better than these clandestine meetings

adjective

Planned or done in secret

Usage examples:

A clandestine meeting, the virus clandestinely burrowed its way into computers across the globe.

adjective

Kept secret; hidden.

Usage examples:

A concealed weapon

verb

Not allow to be seen; hide.

Usage examples:

A line of sand dunes concealed the distant sea

adjective

Kept hidden or where it cannot easily be seen

Usage examples:

The robbery had been recorded on a concealed security camera., he was carrying a concealed weapon.,…

adjective

Not openly acknowledged or displayed.

Usage examples:

Covert operations against the dictatorship

noun

A thicket in which game can hide.

Usage examples:

I couldn't help but admire the beautifully laid out game crops and newly-planted coverts.

adjective

Hidden or secret

Usage examples:

Covert military operations

adjective

Having a meaning that is mysterious or obscure.

Usage examples:

He found his boss's utterances too cryptic

adjective

Mysterious and difficult to understand

Usage examples:

A cryptic message/remark

noun

The partial or total absence of light.

Usage examples:

The office was in darkness

noun

The quality of being without light, or a situation in which there is little or no light

Usage examples:

The city centre was plunged into darkness by the power cut., they made their way up the beach in da…

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

(of a light, colour, or illuminated object) not shining brightly or clearly.

Usage examples:

The dim glow of the fire

verb

Make or become less bright or distinct.

Usage examples:

A smoky inferno that dimmed the sun

abbreviation

Diminuendo.

noun

The quality of not having or giving much light

Usage examples:

The light bulb formed a bright spot in the dimness of the barn., the dimness of the weak candle hid…

adjective

Gloomy and drab.

Usage examples:

A dingy room

adjective

(of a place or material) dark and unattractive esp. because of being dirty or not cared for

Usage examples:

The stores seemed old and dingy, their lights too dim and their ceilings too low.

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

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…

adjective

Causing or involving great suffering, fear, or unhappiness; extremely bad or serious.

Usage examples:

There's been a dreadful accident

adjective

Very bad

Usage examples:

I realized i had committed a dreadful mistake.

noun

Lack of interest or excitement.

Usage examples:

Tasks of such repetitive and numbing dullness

noun

The darker stage of twilight.

Usage examples:

Dusk was falling rapidly

verb

Grow dark.

Usage examples:

The sky dusked and the shadows got long and hard

adjective

Shadowy, dim, or dark.

Usage examples:

The dusk demesnes of night

adjective

Darkish in colour.

Usage examples:

Dusky red

adjective

Dark in colour

Usage examples:

In autumn, the leaves turn a dusky red.

adjective

Difficult to interpret or understand; mysterious.

Usage examples:

He took the money with an enigmatic smile

adjective

Mysterious and impossible to understand completely

Usage examples:

The mona lisa has a famously enigmatic smile., he left an enigmatic message on my answering machine.

adjective

Intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest.

Usage examples:

Esoteric philosophical debates

adjective

Intended for or understood by only a few people who have special knowledge

Usage examples:

Literary readings can sometimes seem esoteric, but we are trying to make them more attractive to mo…

adjective

Very unpleasant, serious, or shocking.

Usage examples:

There's been a most frightful accident

adjective

Causing great horror or fear.

Usage examples:

One of the most ghastly crimes ever committed

adjective

Frightening and shocking

Usage examples:

It was a ghastly crime.

noun

Twilight; dusk.

Usage examples:

Hundreds of lights are already shimmering in the gloaming

noun

The time of day when it is becoming dark but is not yet fully dark

Usage examples:

I walked home in the gloaming, with the city lights coming on., gloaming lasts a very short time he…

noun

Partial or total darkness.

Usage examples:

He strained his eyes peering into the gloom

verb

Have a dark or sombre appearance.

Usage examples:

The black gibbet glooms beside the way

noun

Lack of hope

Usage examples:

Gloom and anger replaced her earlier upbeat mood., up ahead they could see lights in the gloom.

noun

The state of being unhappy or without hope

Usage examples:

The sheer gloominess of the prime minister's message has attracted much comment., economists said t…

adjective

Dark or poorly lit, especially so as to appear depressing or frightening.

Usage examples:

A gloomy corridor badly lit by oil lamps

adjective

Past participle of hide1.

verb

Put or keep out of sight.

Usage examples:

He hid the money in the house

adjective

Used to describe costs that are not normally included in the original price of something, or are not normally considered when judging something

Usage examples:

Hidden charges/costs/extras, hidden fees/penalties, there are the hidden costs of climate change th…

adjective

Extremely ugly.

Usage examples:

Hideous lizard-like creatures

adjective

Offensive, extremely ugly, or shocking

Usage examples:

The bathroom was pink and green and silver – it was absolutely hideous.

adjective

Extremely unpleasant, horrifying, or terrible.

Usage examples:

She suffered horrendous injuries

adjective

So bad as to be shocking; extremely unpleasant

Usage examples:

Exhibits show how horrendous the living conditions there were.

adjective

Causing or likely to cause horror; shocking.

Usage examples:

A horrible massacre

adjective

Very bad, unpleasant, or disgusting

Usage examples:

There was a horrible smell outside the factory.

adjective

Causing horror.

Usage examples:

Horrific injuries

adjective

So bad as to be shocking

Usage examples:

The report detailed the horrific conditions in the prison.

adjective

Impossible to pass through or enter.

Usage examples:

A dark, impenetrable forest

adjective

Impossible to enter or go through

Usage examples:

An impenetrable jungle, too many scholarly books are written in an impenetrable jargon.

adjective

Not able to be understood; not intelligible.

Usage examples:

A language which is incomprehensible to anyone outside the office

adjective

Not clear or sharply defined.

Usage examples:

His speech was slurred and indistinct

adjective

Not clear

Usage examples:

An indistinct shape/sound/recollection

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

Impossible to understand or interpret.

Usage examples:

Guy looked blankly inscrutable

adjective

Dull, heavy, or slow.

Usage examples:

His eyelids were leaden with sleep

adjective

Like lead in color or weight; gray or heavy

Usage examples:

They said goodbye under a leaden sky.

adjective

If a night is moonless, you cannot see the moon in the sky at night.

noun

Darkness or thick mist that makes it difficult to see.

Usage examples:

My eyes were straining to see through the murk of the rainy evening

adjective

Murky; gloomy.

Usage examples:

The sun peered down at her from the murk grey cloud rumbling their way down their road in the sky.

noun

Darkness or a thick cloud, which prevents you from seeing clearly

Usage examples:

A dense murk of smog

adjective

Difficult or impossible to understand, explain, or identify.

Usage examples:

His colleague had vanished in mysterious circumstances

adjective

Strange, not known, or not understood

Usage examples:

She's an actress whose inner life has remained mysterious, despite the many interviews she has give…

adjective

Not discovered or known about; uncertain.

Usage examples:

His origins and parentage are obscure

verb

Keep from being seen; conceal.

Usage examples:

Grey clouds obscure the sun

adjective

Not known to many people

Usage examples:

An obscure 18th-century painter, official policy has changed for reasons that remain obscure.

adjective

Not able to be seen through; not transparent.

Usage examples:

Bottles filled with a pale opaque liquid

noun

An opaque thing.

Usage examples:

To be honest, it's a relief when summer is over and we can get back into good old black opaques, wh…

adjective

(of a substance) preventing light from traveling through, and therefore not allowing you to see through it

Usage examples:

Opaque watercolors, the majority of readers found his poetry difficult, even opaque.

adjective

(of the sky or weather) marked by a covering of grey cloud; dull.

Usage examples:

A chilly, overcast day

noun

Cloud covering a large part of the sky.

Usage examples:

The planes found the target obscured by overcast

verb

Cover with clouds or shade.

Usage examples:

The pebbled beach, overcast with the shadows of the high cliffs

adjective

Rare, exotic, or obscure.

Usage examples:

A few linguistic terms are perhaps a bit recherché for the average readership

adjective

(of a subject or knowledge) little known; abstruse.

Usage examples:

The book is full of recondite information

adjective

Not known about by many people and difficult to understand

Usage examples:

We had to work from material that was both complex and recondite.

adjective

Disastrous or destructive.

Usage examples:

A ruinous effect on the environment

adjective

Not known or seen or not meant to be known or seen by others.

Usage examples:

How did you guess i'd got a secret plan?

noun

Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.

Usage examples:

A state secret

noun

A piece of information that is not generally known or is not known by someone else and should not be told to others

Usage examples:

We don’t keep secrets from each other., don’t tell anyone – it’s a secret., what’s the secret of yo…

noun

Comparative darkness and coolness caused by shelter from direct sunlight.

Usage examples:

Sitting in the shade

verb

Screen from direct light.

Usage examples:

She shaded her eyes against the sun

noun

Darkness and cooler temperatures caused by something blocking the direct light from the sun

Usage examples:

[ u ] the truck was parked in the shade., [ c ] the lamps had matching shades., he painted the room…

noun

A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.

Usage examples:

Trees cast long shadows

verb

Short for eyeshadow.

noun

An area of darkness caused when light is blocked by something, usually in a shape similar to the object that is blocking the light

Usage examples:

[ c ] chloë kept jumping on tyler’s shadow., [ u ] this corner of the room is always in shadow., [ …

adjective

Full of shadows.

Usage examples:

A long, shadowy, cobbled passage

adjective

Dark and full of shadows

Usage examples:

She was startled by a sudden movement in the shadowy hallway.

adjective

Used to refer to someone or something about which little is known

Usage examples:

The english king, arthur, is a somewhat shadowy figure who may not have even existed., they are mem…

adjective

Situated in or full of shade.

Usage examples:

Shady woods

adjective

Having or giving shade

Usage examples:

It’s nice and shady in front of the house., they’d been involved in shady real estate deals., he ha…

adjective

Likely to be illegal or dishonest

Usage examples:

The company got involved in some rather shady business deals., we always felt he was a very shady c…

adjective

Without any sun.

Usage examples:

A sunless winter day

adjective

Without any sun

Usage examples:

It was a grey and sunless day and our spirits were low.

noun

The quality of being dark or shadowy.

Usage examples:

The tenebrosity was split by occasional strands of bright light that were now lying across her chee…

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…

noun

The soft glowing light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon, caused by the reflection of the sun's rays from the atmosphere.

Usage examples:

She looked out on the beautiful twilight

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

Not illuminated.

Usage examples:

The unilluminated length of the tunnel

adjective

Unlit.

Usage examples:

A maze of unlighted passages

adjective

Not provided with lighting.

Usage examples:

An unlit staircase

adjective

Not yet burning

Usage examples:

He took the unlit cigar from his mouth., unlit candles, pilots may not take off from unlit runways …

adjective

Not revealed; secret.

Usage examples:

Some feelings can run so deep that they are better left unrevealed

adjective

Not revealed (= made known or shown)

Usage examples:

Some details are unrevealed., an unrevealed number of staff have been disciplined.

adjective

Wearing or covered by a veil.

Usage examples:

A veiled woman

verb

Cover with a veil.

Usage examples:

She veiled her face