Meaning & use
dimness
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Meanings
noununcountable
the state of having little light, so that things are hard to see clearly
Grammar: Uncountable: use it alone, as in 'the dimness of the room', not with 'a' or a plural.
Patterns
- the dimness of something
- in the dimness
- the dimness inside something
The dimness of the hallway made her reach for the light switch.
We sat in the dimness of the church and waited for our eyes to adjust.
Even in the dimness, I could see that the painting was damaged.
noununcountablefigurative
the quality of being weak, faint, or not clearly seen, heard, or remembered
Grammar: Uncountable and often used with 'of' to name what is faint or unclear.
Patterns
- the dimness of something
- a dimness in something
There was a dimness in his voice that told me he was losing hope.
The dimness of my memory of that year surprises me.
She remembered the dimness of the early morning before the news arrived.
Common combinations
- the dimness of the room
- The dimness of the room made it hard to read.
- in the dimness
- In the dimness, the trees looked like tall shadows.
- a faint dimness
- A faint dimness spread across the sky before sunrise.
- the dimness of the light
- The dimness of the light gave the café a calm mood.
- eyes adjust to the dimness
- Give your eyes a moment to adjust to the dimness.
Synonyms and how they differ
- darkness
- Stronger than dimness: darkness means almost no light at all, while dimness suggests there is still some weak light.
- gloom
- Gloom is darker and often suggests sadness or a threatening atmosphere, so it fits a mood better than a simple lack of light.
- faintness
- Faintness usually describes something barely noticeable, such as a sound or smell, and is less common for light.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: dimness or dimmest? dimness or dumbness?
dimness vs dimmest
Dimmest is the superlative of the adjective 'dim' (the least bright), while dimness is the noun naming that quality.
dimness vs dumbness
Dumbness sounds similar but means an inability to speak, or in informal use a lack of intelligence; it has nothing to do with light.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'dimness' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Dimness' is an uncountable noun, so it fits after 'the ... of the cave'. Option 2 treats it as a countable object you can switch on, option 3 uses it as an adjective, and option 4 uses it where the adjective 'dim' is needed.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dimness”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.