1
as in to stain
to make dirty
blackened the towels with their dirty hands
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2
as in to libel
to make untrue and harmful statements about
the politician maliciously blackened his opponent's reputation
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to darken
to make dark, dim, or indistinct
thick smoke from the forest fires blackened the sky for many miles
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of blacken
Eventually, Dad needed to referee, settling disputes and trying to end things before noses were bloodied and eyes were blackened.
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Chad Graff, The Athletic, 12 Aug. 2024
On a Saturday afternoon in early July, the clouds blackened above Hampton Court Palace, southwest of London.
—Sophie Elmhirst, The New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2024
The other, taken just after the October 7 attack, shows the same homes blackened and destroyed in the militants’ rampage.
—Matthew Chance, CNN, 6 Oct. 2024
Today, Rafah is uninhabitable, its buildings crumbled and blackened.
—Richard Engel, NBC News, 13 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for blacken 
Chad Graff, The Athletic, 12 Aug. 2024
On a Saturday afternoon in early July, the clouds blackened above Hampton Court Palace, southwest of London.
—Sophie Elmhirst, The New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2024
The other, taken just after the October 7 attack, shows the same homes blackened and destroyed in the militants’ rampage.
—Matthew Chance, CNN, 6 Oct. 2024
Today, Rafah is uninhabitable, its buildings crumbled and blackened.
—Richard Engel, NBC News, 13 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for blacken
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blacken
Verb
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Shuford sanded it down, stained the woodwork, and then sealed it for added durability.Alyce Collins, Newsweek, 24 Dec. 2024
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Pooling water turned the dirt into a slippery mud puddle, quickly staining the bottom of the white wedding dress brown.Ashlyn Robinette, People.com, 19 Dec. 2024
Verb
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After months of contentious testimony, a seven-member jury found unanimously that Heard had libeled her ex and awarded him $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 23 Dec. 2024
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Even if the jury found Trump was libeled, a money award would involve proving his reputation was damaged.Pat Beall, Orlando Sentinel, 22 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Here’s a symbolic gesture that deeply touched me, a heartening drama on a darkening stage: the wooden Nativity scene unveiled at the Vatican earlier this month, created by Palestinian artists from Dar al-Kalima University, in Bethlehem.Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 25 Dec. 2024
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Country Life Last Leaves As the flowers and the ferns put themselves to bed, shedding petals, drying and darkening, folding up, one garden plant stays longer than all the rest: kale.Richard Brookhiser, National Review, 19 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Having dirtied himself in the catacombs beneath the papacy’s home, our scrappy archaeologist emerges into none other than a resplendent re-creation of the Sistine Chapel.Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2024
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Arizona Republic Cool weather and the holiday season may seem like the perfect excuse to cozy up by the fire, but too many blazing yule logs can dirty the air and put some of your neighbors at risk.Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 16 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Beijing has accused Washington of fabricating the charges to smear China's image, Reuters reports.Kayla Jimenez, USA TODAY, 19 Dec. 2024
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And on the streets of Tripoli in the north, there are spicy fish sandwiches served on pita bread smeared with toum.Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 9 Dec. 2024
Verb
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But it has been largely obscured by the perpetual closeness of statewide elections here, and the fact that Democrats have been winning them more often than losing them.Craig Gilbert, Journal Sentinel, 23 Dec. 2024
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This recent run has somewhat obscured the Penguins’ penchant for allowing the first goal.Rob Rossi, The Athletic, 22 Dec. 2024
Verb
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There’s a new promo picture going around showing a Dusty Milligan with facial hair (see: above) — and listen, not to besmirch his infinity-pool jawline, but the dude looks so much better with that scruff.Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2024
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The Jefferson Council, a conservative alumni group, had been calling for an end or change to the tour program, insisting that volunteers had been wrongly besmirching the legacy of UVA's founder.David K. Li, NBC News, 30 Aug. 2024
Verb
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Jeff grants this request, and Gabe humiliates himself on national television for fifteen unbearable seconds.Emma Sharpe, Vulture, 13 Nov. 2024
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To see the reigning English champions humiliated and humbled in such a manner is a very rare event.Tim Spiers, The Athletic, 25 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Blacken.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blacken. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.
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