dark

Meanings

Adjective

• Having an absolute or (more often) relative lack of light
• Transmitting, reflecting, or receiving inadequate light to render timely discernment or comprehension: caliginous, darkling, dim, gloomy, lightless, sombre
• dull or deeper in hue; not bright or light
• Ambiguously or unclearly expressed: enigmatic, esoteric, mysterious, obscure, undefined
• Marked by or conducted with secrecy: hidden, secret; clandestine, surreptitious
• Without moral or spiritual light; sinister, malign
• Conducive to hopelessness; depressing or bleak
• Lacking progress in science or the arts; said of a time period
• Extremely sad, depressing, or somber, typically due to, or marked by, a tragic or undesirable event
• with emphasis placed on the unpleasant aspects of life; said of a work of fiction, a work of nonfiction presented in narrative form or a portion of either
• Off the air; not transmitting

Noun

• A complete or (more often) partial absence of light.
• Ignorance.
• Nightfall.
• A dark shade or dark passage in a painting, engraving, etc.

Verb

• To grow or become dark, darken.
• To remain in the dark, lurk, lie hidden or concealed.
• To make dark, darken; to obscure.

Related

Similar words

• hopeless, negative, pessimistic
• unenlightened
• darkness
• cluelessness, knowledgelessness, unawareness

Opposite words

• bright, light, lit
• bright, light, pale

Origin

• From Middle English derk, from Old English deorc, from Proto-West Germanic *derk, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerg-, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer-.
• From Middle English derk, derke, dirke, dyrke, from the adjective (see above), or possibly from an unrecorded Old English *dierce, *diercu.
• From Middle English derken, from Old English deorcian, from Proto-West Germanic *derkōn.