blacken

verb

black·​en ˈbla-kən 

blackened; blackening

ˈblak-niŋ,

ˈbla-kə- 

intransitive verb

: to become dark or black

the sky blackens

transitive verb

1

: to make black

2

: defame, sully

blackened her reputation

blackener

ˈblak-nər

ˈbla-kə- 

noun

Synonyms

• befoul
• begrime
• bemire
• besmirch
• daub
• dirty
• distain [archaic]
• foul
• gaum [dialect]
• grime
• mire
• muck
• muddy
• smirch
• smudge
• soil
• stain
• sully

Examples of blacken in a Sentence

Fire had blackened the field.

The sky blackened as the storm approached.

Their false accusations failed to blacken my reputation.

a presidency blackened by scandal

Recent Examples on the Web

By the end of January, the Palisades and Eaton fires had collectively burned more than 37,000 acres of land, blackened more than 1,500 structures, and claimed 29 lives, according to the New York Times. —Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 19 Feb. 2025

Historians will see the fires that blackened much of Los Angeles this year as one of the state’s most significant events and how recovery is managed, or mismanaged, will be legend. —Dan Walters, The Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2025

The Silverado fire broke out on Oct. 26, 2020, near Santiago and Silverado canyon roads and blackened about 12,400 acres. —City News Service, Orange County Register, 11 Feb. 2025

Get The Recipe 14 of 25 Bronzed Redfish Bronzed is a play on blackened, a technique used to crust an ingredient, like this fish, in flavorful spices and deeply toast it until black. —Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 3 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English blaknen, blakenen, from blak black entry 1 + -n, -en -en entry 2

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Rhymes for blacken

• bracken
• lakin
• slacken

Kids Definition

blacken

verb

black·​en ˈblak-ən 

blackened; blackening ˈblak-(ə-)niŋ 

1

: to make or become dark or black

2

: to hurt the reputation of

blackener

-(ə-)nər 

noun