Library / English Dictionary

DARKEN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make dark or darker

Example:

darken a room

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "darken" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Cause:

darken (become dark or darker)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "darken"):

embrown (cause to darken)

murk (make dark, dim, or gloomy)

dun (make a dun color)

blind; dim (make dim by comparison or conceal)

dim (make dim or lusterless)

bedim; benight (make darker and difficult to perceive by sight)

shade; shade off; shadow (cast a shadow over)

cloud; overcast (make overcast or cloudy)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Antonym:

brighten (make more cheerful through the use of color)

Derivation:

darkening (changing to a darker color)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Become dark or darker

Example:

The sky darkened

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "darken" is one way to...):

change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "darken"):

dusk (become dusk)

black out; blacken out (darken completely)

cloud over; cloud up; overcloud (become covered with clouds)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Antonym:

lighten (become lighter)

Derivation:

darkening (changing to a darker color)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Tarnish or stain

Example:

a scandal that darkened the family's good name

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "darken" is one way to...):

defile; maculate; stain; sully; tarnish (make dirty or spotty, as by exposure to air; also used metaphorically)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

When exposed to a strong external magnetic field, ferumoxides exhibits enhanced T2 relaxation, resulting in signal loss in normal tissues (image darkening) on mid T1/T2 or strongly T2-weighted images.

(Ferumoxides Injectable Solution, NCI Thesaurus)

A condition in which the skin and the whites of the eyes become yellow, urine darkens, and the color of stool becomes lighter than normal.

(Jaundice, NCI Dictionary)

The face of the Gascon darkened, and his eyes flashed with resentment.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Again, as he kissed me, painful thoughts darkened his aspect.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Straightway a great flock of wild crows came flying toward her, enough to darken the sky.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

Then came the horrible discovery which has darkened my life, and which was as great a mystery to me as it has been to you.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

As we peered from the darkened sitting-room of the lodging-house, one more dim light glimmered high up through the obscurity.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Symmetrical patches of tan or brown discoloration on the skin of the face that darken with sun exposure.

(Melasma, NCI Thesaurus)

Another storm enlightened Jura with faint flashes; and another darkened and sometimes disclosed the Môle, a peaked mountain to the east of the lake.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Lip-lip continued so to darken his days that White Fang became wickeder and more ferocious than it was his natural right to be.

(White Fang, by Jack London)