dark
UK/dɑːk//dɑɹk/
dark adjective: having an absolute or (more often) relative lack of light.
Adjective
dark (comparative darker, superlative darkest)
- Having an absolute or (more often) relative lack of light.
- The room was too dark for reading.
- It was a dark and stormy night, the rain fell in torrents—except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets […]1830, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter I, in Paul Clifford. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 1
- Extinguished.
- Dark signals should be treated as all-way stop signs.
- Deprived of sight; blind.
- He was, I think, at this time quite dark, and so had been for some years.1661 April 7 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 29 March 1661]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume I...
- Transmitting, reflecting, or receiving inadequate light to render timely discernment or comprehension
- Dull or deeper in hue; not bright or light.
- My sister’s hair is darker than mine.
- Her skin grew dark with a suntan.
- Ambiguously or unclearly expressed.
- What's your dark meaning, mouse, of this light word?c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- What may seem dark at the first, will afterward be found more plain.[1594], Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Iohn Windet, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page)
- Marked by or conducted with secrecy.
- The dark side of the moon.
- dark money
- Synonyms:
- clandestine, hidden, secret, sinister, surreptitious, covered, concealed, dern, invisible, inward
- Having racing capability not widely known.
- The first favourite was never heard of, the second favourite was never seen after the distance post, all the ten-to-oners were in the rear, and a dark horse, which had never been thought of, and which the careless [Duke of] St. James had never even observed in the list, rushed past the grand stand...1831, [Benjamin Disraeli], chapter V, in The Young Duke. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, book II, page 163
- Without moral or spiritual light; sinister, malevolent, malign.
- a dark villain
- a dark deed
- Conducive to hopelessness; depressing or bleak.
- The Great Depression was a dark time.
- The film was a dark psychological thriller.
- Synonyms:
- dreary, hopeless, negative, pessimistic, cheerless, comfortless, bleak, morose, depressing, desolate
- Lacking progress in science or the arts.
- The dark ages began after the collapse of the Roman Empire.
- The Greek Dark Ages began after the Bronze Age collapse.
- Synonyms:
- unenlightened
- Extremely sad, depressing, or somber, typically due to, or marked by, a tragic or undesirable event.
- September 11, 2001, the day when four terrorist attacks destroyed the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, is often referred to as America’s dark day.
- Synonyms:
- grievous, mournful, atrabiliary, atrabilious, deplorable, depressing, distressing, heartbreaking, heartrending, miserable
- With emphasis placed on the unpleasant and macabre aspects of life; said of a work of fiction, a work of nonfiction presented in narrative form, or a portion of either.
- The ending of this book is rather dark.
- This show is full of dark humor.
- Off the air; not transmitting.
Noun
dark (usually uncountable, plural darks)
- A complete or (more often) partial absence of light.
- Dark surrounds us completely.
- Here stood he in the dark, his sharp sword out.c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
- Synonyms:
- darkness
- Ignorance.
- We kept him in the dark.
- The lawyer was left in the dark as to why the jury was dismissed.
- Synonyms:
- cluelessness, knowledgelessness, unawareness
- Nightfall.
- It was after dark before we got to playing baseball.
- Synonyms:
- crepusculum
- A dark shade or dark passage in a painting, engraving, etc.
- The lights may serve for a repose to the darks, and the darks to the lights.1695, C[harles] A[lphonse] du Fresnoy, translated by John Dryden, De Arte Graphica. The Art of Painting, […], London: […] J[ohn] Heptinstall for W. Rogers, […], →OCLC
Verb
dark (third-person singular simple present darks, present participle darking, simple past and past participle darked)
- To grow or become dark, darken.
- To remain in the dark, lurk, lie hidden or concealed.
- To dark is still used in Swaledale (Yorkshire) in the sense of to lie hid, as, 'Te rattens [rats] mun ha bin darkin whel nu [till now]; we hannot heerd tem tis last fortnith'.1873, Richard Morris, Walter William Skeat, “Glossarial Index”, in Specimens of Early English, volumes II: From Robert of Gloucester to Gower, A.D. 1298—A.D. 1393, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 490
- To make dark, darken; to obscure.
Proper noun capitalized: Dark
Dark (plural Darks)
- A surname.
dark meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
dark in Hindi
- having an absolute or relative lack of light
- अंधेरा andherā, श्यामल śyāmal
- not bright or light, deeper in hue — see also blackish, black
- श्यामल śyāmal
- hidden, secret
- गुप्त gupt, छिपा हुवा chipā huvā
- a complete or partial absence of light
- अंधेरा andherā
dark in Tamil
- having an absolute or relative lack of light
- இருள் iruḷ
dark in Marathi
- having an absolute or relative lack of light
- अंधारमय andhārmay
- not bright or light, deeper in hue — see also blackish, black
- गडद gaḍad
- hidden, secret
- गुप्त gupta, लपलेले laplele
- a complete or partial absence of light
- अंधार andhār, अंधकार andhkār, काळोख kāḷokh
dark in Urdu
- having an absolute or relative lack of light
- اندھیرا andherā
More languagesFewer languages
- dark in Bengali
- আঁধার ãdhar, অন্ধকার ondhokar
- dark in Telugu
- చీకటి cīkaṭi, గాఢాంధకారము gāḍhāndhakāramu, మర్మము marmamu
- dark in Malayalam
- ഇരുട്ട് iruṭṭŭ, അന്ധകാരം andhakāraṁ, അറിവില്ലായ്മ aṟivillāyma, അജ്ഞത ajñata
- dark in Kannada
- ಕತ್ತಲು, ಅಂಧಕಾರ, ರಾತ್ರಿ, ಇರುಳು
- dark in Punjabi
- ਹਨੇਰਾ hanerā, ਗੂੜ੍ਹਾ gūṛhā, ਘਟ ghaṭ
- dark in Gujarati
- અંધારું andhārũ
- dark in Odia
- ଅନ୍ଧାର andhāra
- dark in Sanskrit
- श्याम śyāma
- dark in Assamese
- এন্ধাৰ endhar, আন্ধাৰ andhar
- dark in Nepali
- गाढा gāḍhā, अँध्यारो ãdhyāro
- dark in Tagalog
- madilim
- dark in Arabic
- مُظْلِم muẓlim, دَاكِن dākin, غَامِق ḡāmiq, غامج ḡāmij
- dark in Malay
- gelap, kelam, tua
- dark in Indonesian
- gelap
- dark in Persian
- تاریک târik, تار târ, تیره tire, پنهان penhân
- dark in Thai
- มืด mʉ̂ʉt
- dark in Vietnamese
- tối, mờ ám, bóng tối, đêm
- dark in Myanmar
- နက် nak, မည်း many:
Examples of dark in a sentence
- They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely.1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
- When the national grid suffers its next huge outage, as it did in July 2012 when hundreds of millions were left in the dark, look for specks of light in the villages.2013 July 20, “Out of the gloom”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
- Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes.1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
- Round, rosy face, snub nose, dark hair piled up in a chignon.1977, Agatha Christie, chapter 2, in An Autobiography, part II, London: Collins, →ISBN:
Synonyms of dark
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
10 more antonymsFewer antonyms
Forms of dark
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | darker |
| superlative | darkest |
| Noun | |
| plural | darks |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | darks |
| present participle | darking |
| past participle | darked |
| past | darked |
| Proper noun | |
| plural | Darks |
Origin of dark
From Middle English derk, from Old English deorc, from Proto-West Germanic *derk (“dark”), of uncertain origin, but possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerg- (“dim, dull”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- (“dull, dirty”).
From Middle English derk, derke, dirke, dyrke, from the adjective (see above), or possibly from an unrecorded Old English *dierce, *diercu (“dark, darkness”).
Inherited from Middle English derken, from Old English deorcian, from Proto-West Germanic *derkōn, from *derk (“dirty, dark”) + *-ōn.
Words formed from dark
- 0-dark-hundred
- 0-dark-thirty
- Alexander's dark band
- all cats are grey in the dark
- antidark
- bedark
- dark academia
- dark academic
- dark-activity
- dark-adapted
- dark advertising
- dark age
- dark ages
- Dark Alfs
- dark alternative scene
- dark ambient
- dark and stormy
- dark art
- dark as Egypt
- dark as pitch
- dark as the inside of a cow
- dark blue
- dark blue snakeweed
- dark-blue snakeweed
- Dark Brandon
- dark bread
- dark brown
- dark cabaret
- dark chocolate
- dark cloud
- dark comedy
- Dark Continent
- darkcore
- Dark Corner
- dark corn syrup
- dark crimson underwing
- dark culture
- dark current
- dark cutter
- darkcutter
- darkcutting
- dark data
- dark earth
- dark elf
- dark empath
- dark energy
- Dark Enlightenment
- dark-eyed
- dark-eyed junco
- dark factory
- darkfall
- dark fantasy
- dark fiber
- dark fibre
- darkfic
- darkfield
- dark field
- dark figure
- dark fleet
- dark flight
Phrases with dark
- dark l
- at dark
- dark up
- go dark
- dark web
- dark arts
- dark flow
- dark life
- Dark MAGA
- dark meat
- dark mode
- dark moon
148 more phrasesFewer phrases
- dark pool
- dark post
- dark ride
- dark room
- dark side
- dark star
- dark wave
- dark woke
- goes dark
- gone dark
- went dark
- after dark
- black dark
- dark blues
- dark elves
- dark flows
- dark fluid
- dark fungi
- dark horse
- dark humor
- dark light
- dark magic
- dark meats
- dark money
- dark moons
- dark night
- dark pools
- dark posts
- dark rides
- dark rooms
- dark sides
- dark slide
- dark space
- dark stars
- dark store
- dark triad
- dark vowel
- dark world
- dusky dark
- going dark
- pitch dark
- before dark
- dark breads
- dark clouds
- dark fleets
- dark fungus
- dark galaxy
- dark horses
- dark humour
- Dark Knight
- dark lights
- dark market
- dark matter
- dark nebula
- dark nights
- dark sector
- dark slides
- dark social
- dark spaces
- dark stores
- dark thirty
- dark vowels
- dark worlds
- in the dark
- dark cutters
- dark empaths
- dark figures
- dark flights
- dark hearted
- dark kitchen
- dark lantern
- dark markets
- dark nebulae
- dark nebulas
- dark o’clock
- dark pattern
- dark romance
- dark sectors
- dark sleeper
- dark soliton
- dark spinach
- dark tourism
- dark tourist
- dark traffic
- dark cultures
- dark currents
- dark funguses
- dark galaxies
- dark hydrogen
- dark kitchens
- dark lanterns
- dark lanthorn
- Dark Learning
- dark patterns
- dark shyshark
- dark sleepers
- dark solitons
- dark tourists
- dark academics
- dark factories
- dark lanthorns
- dark shysharks
- dark territory
- oh dark thirty
- dark chocolates
- hot dark matter
- oh dark hundred
- Aston dark space
- cold dark matter
- dark alternative
- dark fuck prince
- dark gopher frog
- dark territories
- digital dark age
- leap in the dark
- shot in the dark
- stab in the dark
- warm dark matter
- zero dark thirty
- Aston dark spaces
- dark and stormies
- dark gopher frogs
- dark jungle glory
- dark satanic mill
- digital dark ages
- European dark bee
- fuzzy dark matter
- leaps in the dark
- shots in the dark
- stabs in the dark
- cathode dark space
- Crookes dark space
- dark satanic mills
- European dark bees
- Faraday dark space
- murder in the dark
- cathode dark spaces
- dark jungle glories
- Faraday dark spaces
- whistle in the dark
- baryonic dark matter
- whistled in the dark
- whistles in the dark
- dark green fritillary
- intellectual dark web
- look on the dark side
- whistling in the dark
- Alexander's dark bands
Words that rhyme with dark
28 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about dark
- What does dark mean?
- Dark means having an absolute or (more often) relative lack of light.
- What is dark in Hindi?
- Dark in Hindi is अंधेरा (andherā), श्यामल (śyāmal), गुप्त (gupt). See Dark meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use dark in a sentence?
- They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely.
- What part of speech is dark?
- Dark can be an adjective, a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce dark?
- Dark is pronounced /dɑːk/ (UK).
Words near dark in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: dark (page history and authors); Dark (page history and authors); dark (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ਗੂੜ੍ਹਾ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); अँध्यारो (Nepali) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-dark.ogg.
Cite this entry: “dark.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/dark. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.