dark

/dɑrk/

/dɑk/

Other forms: darker; darkest; darks

When something's dark, there is no light. Far from the city lights, it gets so dark at night that you can see many stars in the sky.

Dark comes from the Proto-Germanic word derkaz, which means "to hide or conceal." This meaning is preserved in the phrase kept in the dark, meaning purposely keeping information from someone. As an adjective, in addition to being the opposite of light, dark describes things that are gloomy, difficult to interpret or heavy, like a dark movie whose main character feels alienated from society.

Definitions of dark

1. adjective

   devoid of or deficient in light or brightness; shadowed or black
   “sitting in a dark corner”

   “a dark day”

   “dark shadows”

   synonyms:

   Acheronian, Acherontic, Stygian

   dark and dismal as of the rivers Acheron and Styx in Hades

   aphotic

   lacking light; especially not reached by sunlight

   black, pitch-black, pitch-dark

   extremely dark

   caliginous

   dark and misty and gloomy

   Cimmerian

   intensely dark and gloomy as with perpetual darkness

   crepuscular

   like twilight; dim

   darkened

   become or made dark by lack of light

   darkening

   becoming dark or darker as from waning light or clouding over

   darkling

   (poetic) occurring in the dark or night

   darkling

   uncannily or threateningly dark or obscure

   dim, subdued

   lacking in light; not bright or harsh

   dusky, twilight, twilit

   lighted by or as if by twilight

   gloomful, glooming, gloomy, sulky

   depressingly dark

   lightless, unilluminated, unlighted, unlit

   without illumination

   semidark

   partially devoid of light or brightness

   Stygian, tenebrific, tenebrious, tenebrous

   dark and gloomy

   antonyms:

   light

   characterized by or emitting light

   ablaze, inflamed, reddened

   lighted with red light as if with flames

   autofluorescent

   emitting light via self-induced fluorescence

   bioluminescent

   (of living organisms) emitting light

   bright

   having lots of light either natural or artificial

   candescent

   glowing from great heat

   floodlighted, floodlit

   illuminated by means of floodlights

   fluorescent

   emitting light during exposure to radiation from an external source

   illuminated, lighted, lit, well-lighted

   provided with artificial light

   candent, incandescent

   emitting light as a result of being heated

   lamplit

   lighted by a lamp

   lighting-up

   turning lights on

   livid

   (of a light) imparting a deathlike luminosity

   luminescent

   emitting light not caused by heat

   phosphorescent

   emitting light without appreciable heat as by slow oxidation of phosphorous

   sunlit, sunstruck

   lighted by sunlight

   white

   of summer nights in northern latitudes where the sun barely sets
2. adjective

   (used of color) having a dark hue
   “dark green”

   “dark glasses”

   “dark colors like wine red or navy blue”

   synonyms: dusky, fuliginous

   black

   being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light

   darkish

   slightly dark

   antonyms:

   light

   (used of color) having a relatively small amount of coloring agent

   white

   being of the achromatic color of maximum lightness; having little or no hue owing to reflection of almost all incident light

   pale

   very light colored; highly diluted with white

   palish

   slightly pale

   pastel

   delicate and pale in color

   powdery

   as if dulled in color with a sprinkling of powder
3. adjective

   brunet (used of hair or skin or eyes)
   “dark eyes”

   synonyms:

   brunet, brunette

   marked by dark or relatively dark pigmentation of hair or skin or eyes
4. adjective

   having skin rich in melanin pigments
5. noun

   absence of light or illumination
   synonyms: darkness

   antonyms:

   light

   having abundant light or illumination

   types:

   night

   darkness

   black, blackness, lightlessness, pitch blackness, total darkness

   total absence of light

   blackout, brownout, dimout

   darkness resulting from the extinction of lights (as in a city invisible to enemy aircraft)

   semidarkness

   partial darkness

   cloudiness, overcast

   gloomy semidarkness caused by cloud cover

   shade, shadiness, shadowiness

   relative darkness caused by light rays being intercepted by an opaque body

   dimness, duskiness

   the state of being poorly illuminated

   gloom, somberness, sombreness

   a state of partial or total darkness

   obscureness, obscurity

   the state of being indistinct or indefinite for lack of adequate illumination

   type of:

   illumination

   the degree of visibility of your environment
6. noun

   an unilluminated area
   synonyms: darkness, shadow

   type of:

   scene

   the place where some action occurs
7. noun

   the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
   synonyms: night, nighttime

   types:

   weeknight

   any night of the week except Saturday or Sunday

   wedding night

   the night after the wedding when bride and groom sleep together

   type of:

   period, period of time, time period

   an amount of time
8. adjective

   lacking enlightenment or knowledge or culture
   “the dark ages”

   “a dark age in the history of education”

   synonyms: benighted

   unenlightened

   not enlightened; ignorant
9. adjective

   stemming from evil characteristics or forces; wicked or dishonorable
   “Darth Vader of the dark side”

   “a dark purpose”

   “dark undercurrents of ethnic hostility”

   synonyms: sinister

   evil

   morally bad or wrong
10. adjective

    showing a brooding ill humor
    “a dark scowl”

    synonyms: dour, glowering, glum, moody, morose, saturnine, sour, sullen

    ill-natured

    having an irritable and unpleasant disposition
11. adjective

    causing dejection
    “the dark days of the war”

    “a dark gloomy day”

    synonyms: blue, dingy, disconsolate, dismal, drab, drear, dreary, gloomy, grim, sorry

    cheerless, depressing, uncheerful

    causing sad feelings of gloom and inadequacy
12. noun

    absence of moral or spiritual values
    synonyms: darkness, iniquity, wickedness

    types:

    foulness

    disgusting wickedness and immorality

    type of:

    condition, status

    a state at a particular time
13. noun

    an unenlightened state
    “he was in the dark concerning their intentions”

    synonyms: darkness

    type of:

    unenlightenment

    a lack of understanding
14. adjective

    secret
    “keep it dark”

    synonyms:

    concealed

    hidden on any grounds for any motive
15. adjective

    marked by difficulty of style or expression
    “much that was dark is now quite clear to me”

    synonyms: obscure

    incomprehensible, uncomprehensible

    difficult to understand
16. adjective

    not giving performances; closed
    “the theater is dark on Mondays”

    synonyms:

    inactive

    lacking activity; lying idle or unused