Meaning & use
dark
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Having little or no light.
Grammar: Has comparative forms: darker, darkest; can be before a noun or after a linking verb.
Patterns
- a dark room or street
- get or grow dark
- dark outside
The hallway was too dark to read the sign.
It gets dark early in winter.
She carried a lamp through the dark forest.
adjectivecomparable
Of a color close to black rather than pale or light.
Grammar: Often used before color words: dark blue; darker shades.
Patterns
- dark blue, green, or brown
- dark hair or eyes
- a dark shade
He wore a dark green jacket.
The curtains are a dark gray that hides stains.
Her hair turned darker as she grew older.
adjectivecomparablefigurative
Sad, threatening, evil, or concerned with disturbing events.
Grammar: Figurative use; still takes darker/darkest for tone or mood.
Patterns
- a dark mood or period
- dark humor
- dark secrets
The film uses dark humor to discuss serious problems.
He kept a dark secret for many years.
The report described a dark chapter in the country's history.
nounsingular
The absence of light, or the time when there is no daylight.
Grammar: Often used with the: in the dark; after dark.
Patterns
- in the dark
- after dark
- afraid of the dark
The cat hid in the dark under the stairs.
Please do not walk home alone after dark.
The child was no longer afraid of the dark.
Word forms
| comparative | darker |
|---|---|
| superlative | darkest |
Common combinations
- dark room
- Photographers once needed a dark room to develop film.
- dark hair
- She has dark hair and light eyes.
- dark clouds
- Dark clouds gathered before the storm.
- dark secret
- The letter revealed a dark secret about the family.
- dark humor
- His dark humor is not suitable for every audience.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dim
- Means low light, often not completely dark; dark can mean no light at all.
- gloomy
- Suggests darkness with sadness or low spirits, often figurative.
- murky
- Usually dark, dirty, or unclear, especially for liquids, weather, or situations.
- sinister
- Stronger than dark for evil or threatening character, not physical light.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: dark or darkness? dark or dim?
dark vs darkness
Dark is often an adjective; darkness is the noun naming the state or absence of light.
dark vs dim
Dim means only a little light and can improve easily; dark usually means much less or no light.
Practice
Choose the sentence where dark is figurative.
Choose one answer.
Option 1 describes physical absence of light; option 2 uses dark figuratively for a bleak moral vision; option 3 describes color depth; option 4 concerns light levels.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dark”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.