swarthier

Adjective

swarthy (comparative swarthier, superlative swarthiest)

1. Tawny, dusky, dark.
2. (derogatory) Dark-skinned; black.
   • Their swarthy Hosts wou'd darken all our Plains, / Doubling the native Horror of the War, / And making Death more grim.1712, Joseph Addison, Cato: A tragedy, published 1750, page 44

   Synonyms:

   black, dusky, sable, sooty

3. Darker-skinned than white, but lighter-skinned than tawny; tan.
   • the Number of purely white People in the World is proportionably very small. All Africa is black or tawny. Asia chiefly tawny. America (exclusive of the new Comers) wholly so. And in Europe, the Spaniards, Italians, French, Russians and Swedes, are generally of what we call a swarthy Complexion; as...1751, Benjamin Franklin, Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind
4. A dark grey color.
5. (nonstandard) Evil, malicious.
6. (nonstandard) Weathered, rough.
   • Mason: "Okay, how do I look, really?"
     Betty: "…'Swarthy.'"
     Mason: "Well, is that good?"
     Betty: "Depends if you like 'swarthy.'"
     Mason: "Do you like 'swarthy'?"
     Betty: "Not particularly."2003, Peter Ocko, “Curious George” (28:10 from the start), in Dead Like Me, season 1, episode 3, Vancouver: MGM, via Showtime

See all 7 meanings of swarthy