blackness

noun

black·​ness ˈblak-ˌnəs 

1

: the quality or state of being black: such as

a

: black color

Massive pots of oil, shellacked to a profound blackness by seasons of smoke and burnt grease, sit above burning slats of wood that seem to have been salvaged from the wreckage of the last hurricane.

—Pete Wells

b

: darkness

As Kit lay wide awake in the blackness, some distant shouts, a snatch of raucous, unrestrained singing such as she had never heard before in Wethersfield, sent her mind back to the days of her childhood.

—Elizabeth George Speare

c

: a gloomy or somber feeling, tone, or character

"… Think of me at this hour, in a strange place, labouring under a blackness of distress that no fancy can exaggerate …"

—Robert Louis Stevenson

2

or less commonly Blackness

a

: the fact or state of belonging to a population group that has dark pigmentation of the skin : the fact or state of being Black (see black entry 1 sense 2a)

"In those days, racism and discrimination was overt. … people could see my blackness and would react to that. …"

—Annette Nelson

b

: the social and cultural identity and experience of Black people

I, on the other hand, feel it is my blackness (not my skin color so much as the culture that nurtured me) that causes me to open myself, acknowledge my soul and its varied components …

—Alice Walker

… the social construction of blackness, a social construction whose phenotypic reach I could not escape.

—Devon W. Carbado

also : representations or expressions of this (as in art or literature)

… a conversation … exploring Blackness and gender identity within fine art and popular culture.

—Ann Fink

Examples of blackness in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Passengers experience a few minutes of weightlessness during this stretch and get to see Earth against the blackness of space. —Mike Wall, Space.com, 25 Feb. 2025

Vega, one of the brightest stars in the night sky, shone above the horizon, brilliant against the blackness. —Nicholas J. R. White Kat Hill, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2025

Shot in inky blackness, Kyle Edward Ball’s film taps into that primal childhood fear of calling out for your parents in the dark and hearing no reply. —Gayle Sequeira, Vulture, 20 Jan. 2025

Instead of gentle concentric circles, gleaming finishes, or a mesmerizing light show, the ProArt P16 meets us with inky blackness. —PCMAG, 13 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English blaknesse, from blak black entry 1 + -nesse -ness

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for blackness

• slackness