Meaning & use
blacken
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To make something black or very dark, or to become black or very dark.
Grammar: It can take an object (smoke blackened the walls) or not (the sky blackened).
Patterns
- blacken something
- something blackens
Smoke blackened the kitchen ceiling.
The sky blackened as the storm approached.
The fire blackened the old stone walls.
verbtransitivefigurative
To harm someone's reputation by saying bad things about them.
Grammar: Takes an object, often a name or reputation: blacken her reputation.
Patterns
- blacken someone's name
- blacken someone's reputation
The rumors were meant to blacken her good name.
He tried to blacken his rival's reputation before the election.
The scandal blackened the company's image for years.
verbtransitive
To cook food, especially fish or meat, by coating it in spices and searing it until the outside is very dark.
Grammar: Takes an object: blacken the fish.
Patterns
- blacken something
The chef blackened the salmon in a hot cast-iron pan.
Blacken the chicken for about three minutes on each side.
We blackened the catfish with Cajun spices.
Word forms
| third person singular | blackens |
|---|---|
| past tense | blackened |
| past participle | blackened |
| -ing form | blackening |
Common combinations
- blacken someone's name
- The newspaper tried to blacken his name.
- blacken the fish
- Blacken the fish in a very hot pan.
- the sky blackens
- The sky blackens before a storm.
- smoke blackens something
- Smoke blackened the chimney.
- blacken a reputation
- Lies can blacken a reputation quickly.
Synonyms and how they differ
- darken
- Darken means to make something less light and does not have to become fully black.
- char
- Char is to burn something so the outside turns black, usually accidentally.
- tarnish
- Tarnish, said of a reputation, means to lessen its shine, whereas blacken is stronger and suggests deliberate harm.
- smear
- Smear means to damage a reputation with false claims, while blacken can describe the result of any harm.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: blacken or darken?
blacken vs darken
Darken is a more general word meaning to make darker; blacken goes all the way to black.
Practice
The rumors were spread to ____ her reputation before the election.
Choose one answer.
To blacken a reputation is to damage it. Brighten, clean and polish all suggest improving it.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “blacken”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.