darken

verb
UK: /ˈdɑːrkən/
US: /ˈdɑːrkən/

  1. To become darker; to make something darker.

    1. The sky will darken before a storm.
    2. Clouds darken the sunlight, making the room gloomy and cold.

  2. To make something less bright or less colorful.

    1. I need to darken this photo a bit.
    2. The artist chose to darken the background to highlight the subject.

  3. To become sad, pessimistic, or angry.

    1. His mood started to darken after hearing the news.
    2. The conversation began to darken as they discussed their problems.

Synonyms

gloom blacken shade obscure dim
darken intransitive-verb

  1. To make or become unhappy or pessimistic.

    1. Don't let it darken your day.
    2. The bad news seemed to darken his whole outlook on life.
darken transitive-verb

  1. To cause to become darker or less bright.

    1. Please darken the lights now.
    2. The curtains darken the room when drawn closed at night.

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "darken" in English means: To become darker; to make something darker., To make something less bright or less colorful., To become sad, pessimistic, or angry..

The phonetic transcription of "darken" is /ˈdɑːrkən/ in British English and /ˈdɑːrkən/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "darken": gloom, blacken, shade, obscure, dim.

Example usage of "darken": "The sky will darken before a storm.". More examples on the page.