dark

Study(25)

/dɑːk/

adj 5noun 4verb 3name 1

Collocations

(adj.)

VERBS

be, look

get, go, grow

As evening fell, the room grew dark and we had to turn on the lights.

remain, stay

ADV

very | completely

almost, nearly

By the time we finished dinner, it was almost dark outside.

quite, rather

(noun.)

ADJ

pitch

When the power went out, the room became pitch dark and we couldn't see anything.

gathering

As evening fell, the gathering dark made it difficult to see the path ahead.

PREP

after ~

My parents never let us play outside after dark when we were children.

before ~

We need to get back to the hotel before dark falls.

in the ~

Children often feel scared when they play in the dark without any lights.

PHRASES

afraid of the dark

My little brother still sleeps with a night light because he's afraid of the dark.

Definitions

adj

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 […]

Having an absolute or (more often) relative lack of light.

Dark signals should be treated as all-way stop signs.

Having an absolute or (more often) relative lack of light.

He was, I think, at this time quite dark, and so had been for some years.

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.

noun

A complete or (more often) partial absence of light.

Dark surrounds us completely.

Here stood he in the dark, his sharp sword out.

Ignorance.

We kept him in the dark.

The lawyer was left in the dark as to why the jury was dismissed.

Nightfall.

It was after dark before we got to playing baseball.

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.

verb

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'.

To make dark, darken; to obscure.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — an unenlightened state

darkness

noun — an unilluminated area

noun — absence of light or illumination

darkness

noun — absence of moral or spiritual values

wickedness
darkness

noun — the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark ou

adjective — causing dejection

adjective — marked by difficulty of style or expression

obscure

adjective — lacking enlightenment or knowledge or culture

benighted

adjective — stemming from evil characteristics or forces

adjective — showing a brooding ill humor

dour
glowering
glum
moody
morose
saturnine
sour
sullen

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

oh dark thirty

Some unspecified hour in the early morning (implying an unpleasant time to be awake).

I had to get up at oh dark thirty to catch a plane.

in the dark

Without information.

Management kept the board of directors completely in the dark.

shot in the dark

A guess, attempt, or choice made with little or no evidence or knowledge.

From listening, I can't tell who composed it. Beethoven, maybe, but that's a shot in the dark.

dark horse

Someone who possesses talents or favorable characteristics that are not known or expected by others.

‘She’s a dark horse,’ he said. ‘She knows just as much about climbing mountains as you or I. In fact, she was ahead of me the whole time, and I lost her.’

all cats are grey in the dark

Sex is enjoyable regardless of the physical attractiveness or social station of one's partner.

[Of a widow:] And to make carnall appetite content, To take lacke of beautie but as an eye ſore. The fayre and the foule, by darke are lyke ſtore. When all candels be out, all cats

Example Bank

The room was too dark for reading.

Wiktionary

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 […]

Wiktionary

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. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was th

Wiktionary

Dark surrounds us completely.

Wiktionary

Here stood he in the dark, his sharp sword out.

Wiktionary

The face which emerged was not reassuring. It was blunt and grey, the nose springing thick and flat from high on the frontal bone of the forehead, whilst his eyes were narrow slits of dark in a tight

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

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