1
as in to frown
to take on a gloomy or forbidding look
his face slowly darkened as we told him the sad news
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in to obscure
to make dark, dim, or indistinct
years of accumulated grime have darkened the painting until it can barely be seen
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to mar
to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable
the scandal darkened his otherwise sterling reputation
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of darken
Those who anticipate a darkening cold war between China and Trump’s United States are misguided.
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Yan Xuetong, Foreign Affairs, 20 Dec. 2024
The weed contains two psoralen derivates that can darken sick upon exposure to UV light.
—Ars Technica, 27 Nov. 2024
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
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
See all Example Sentences for darken 
Yan Xuetong, Foreign Affairs, 20 Dec. 2024
The weed contains two psoralen derivates that can darken sick upon exposure to UV light.
—Ars Technica, 27 Nov. 2024
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
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
See all Example Sentences for darken
Recent Examples of Synonyms for darken
Verb
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While Blanche was speaking, Trump was mostly frowning, and looking off camera.Eric Lach, The New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2025
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In addition, there were also prohibitions: listening to rock and roll music was frowned upon, and for having long hair you could be imprisoned.Sigal Ratner-Arias, Billboard, 19 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Sunlight had begun to fade, casting a shadow on the space.Colleen Shalby, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2025
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Saturn, nearby, will become visible to the naked eye as dusk fades to darkness and remain observable for around three-and-a-half hours past sunset, at which point the pair will sink below the horizon and out of view.Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 17 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Theories about reasons for insufficient water supply have served as comforting fictions in recent days, obscuring the far scarier reality: California is facing a level of wildfire threat beyond any in its history, the kind that overwhelms our usual definitions of preparedness.Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 10 Jan. 2025
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The results of the analysis are estimates, and they are limited by the presence of wildfire smoke partially obscuring satellites.Leanne Abraham, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Denver International Airport's $2 billion Great Hall renovation remains marred by mismanagement, a new report from the Denver Auditor's Office revealed.Alayna Alvarez, Axios, 6 Jan. 2025
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In the lone season of his one-year deal, Zimmer has seen his fair share of ups and downs with his defensive unit that has been marred with injuries.Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Jan. 2025
Verb
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So is seemingly everyone else — except Edward, left to stare into the middle distance and wonder what the hell is going on.Chris Vognar, Los Angeles Times, 7 Jan. 2025
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Meanwhile, Smile 2 reignites the disturbing thrills of the first movie, in which a demonic presence transfers itself to a new host by forcing the previous one into suicide while staring its target in the face with a devious grin.Eric Kohn, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The Eaton fire, which started after the Palisades blaze in the Altadena area, has blackened more than 14,000 acres, destroyed or damaged 7,000 homes and other structures, and killed 17 people, officials say.Paul Pringle, Los Angeles Times, 15 Jan. 2025
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Hands blackened from picking through the rubble of what was left of his home camp.Will Carless, USA TODAY, 12 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The line between satire and disinformation continues to blur on social media, where the context of a post made in jest can be misunderstood to be a factual news report.Peter Suciu, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025
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Yet activists pushing to blur these distinctions seem to believe gender ideology trumps fairness and safety.Kathy Szeliga, Baltimore Sun, 12 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Dodge won't spoil the surprise by confirming if the last one will be based on the Charger or the Challenger (or maybe both), but the evidence suggests the latter is more likely.Jack Fitzgerald, Car and Driver, 13 Feb. 2023
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Farmers’ broiler chickens suffocate, and dairy products spoil.Monica Mark, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Feb. 2023
Thesaurus Entries Near darken
Cite this Entry
“Darken.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/darken. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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