Synonyms of dim

dim 1 of 2

adjective

ˈdim 

1

as in darkened

being without light or without much light

a dim, windowless room in the basement of the house

Synonyms & Similar Words

• darkened
• dark
• murky
• dimmed
• black
• unlit
• dusky
• sombre
• obscured
• lightless
• gloomy
• obscure
• dusk
• somber
• darkling
• darkish
• pitch-dark
• darksome
• pitch-black
• tenebrous
• pitchy
• stygian
• rayless
• caliginous
• twilit
• crepuscular
• moonless
• starless
• grey
• misty
• gray
• tenebrific
• shadowy
• dulled
• lackluster
• pale
• clouded
• shady
• cloudy
• dull
• foggy
• leaden
• sunless
• smoggy
• fuliginous
• befogged
• shadowlike
• soupy
• beclouded

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• light
• bright
• lighted
• luminous
• illuminated
• lit
• brilliant
• shining
• illumined
• lucid
• lucent
• brightened
• incandescent
• radiant
• sparkling
• lightsome
• glaring
• glowing
• effulgent
• resplendent
• lambent
• alight
• beamy
• beaming
• shiny
• glossy
• lustrous
• aglitter
• agleam
• spotlit
• ultrabright
• moonlit
• relucent
• sunlit
• ablaze
• highlighted
• moony
• starlit
• spotlighted
• floodlit
• floodlighted

2

as in matte

lacking a surface luster or gloss

over time, exposure to ultraviolet light will make bright pigments turn dim

Synonyms & Similar Words

• matte
• dulled
• grey
• matt
• gray
• dull
• flat
• pale
• mat
• lusterless
• dark
• black
• darkened
• dingy
• drab
• tarnished
• muddy
• dimmed
• lackluster
• unpolished
• obscured
• cloudy
• mousy
• dusky
• obscure
• sombre
• gloomy
• murky
• dirty
• darkish
• leaden
• somber
• mousey
• pitch-dark
• pitch-black
• tenebrous
• palish
• stygian
• tenebrific

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• shiny
• glossy
• lustrous
• sleek
• rubbed
• polished
• burnished
• glazed
• lacquered
• varnished
• shining
• satin
• silky
• satiny
• silken
• bright
• slippery
• gleaming
• luminous
• slick
• sparkling
• glistening
• brilliant
• dazzling
• buffed
• shimmering
• incandescent
• radiant
• shellacked
• twinkling
• lucid
• glowing
• effulgent
• resplendent
• lucent
• lambent
• glimmering
• glittering
• refulgent
• glinting
• brightened
• scintillating
• fulgent
• candescent
• gemmy
• beaming
• bedazzling

3

as in vague

not seen or understood clearly

have only a dim knowledge of the subject

Synonyms & Similar Words

• vague
• faint
• hazy
• pale
• dark
• fuzzy
• indistinct
• shadowy
• blurry
• foggy
• misty
• obscure
• murky
• undefined
• nebulous
• unclear
• indefinite
• opaque
• undetermined
• indistinguishable
• blear
• bleary
• dusky
• gloomy
• gauzy
• invisible
• intangible
• mysterious
• inexplicable
• incomprehensible
• puzzling
• inappreciable
• impalpable
• indiscernible
• indecipherable
• hieroglyphic
• hieroglyphical
• obfuscatory

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• clear
• definite
• bright
• obvious
• distinct
• evident
• certain
• plain
• pellucid
• strong
• sure
• firm

4

as in slow

not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily

our dog is kind of dim, but very sweet-natured

Synonyms & Similar Words

• slow
• dumb
• stupid
• simple
• dull
• thick
• dense
• foolish
• ignorant
• soft
• opaque
• vacuous
• idiotic
• obtuse
• unintelligent
• dopey
• fatuous
• doltish
• silly
• unreasonable
• witless
• brain-dead
• irrational
• oafish
• dorky
• thickheaded
• pinheaded
• dopy
• mad
• lamebrain
• mindless
• insane
• dunderheaded
• gormless
• brainless
• boneheaded
• slow-witted
• weak-minded
• softheaded
• idiotical
• crazy
• senseless
• dim-witted
• bonehead
• lamebrained
• airheaded
• empty-headed
• unsmart
• thick-witted
• bubbleheaded
• lunkheaded
• chuckleheaded
• looney
• half-witted
• knuckleheaded
• moronic
• absurd
• lunatic
• birdbrained
• feebleminded
• simpleminded
• imbecile
• imbecilic
• uneducated
• cretinous
• uninformed
• fool
• illiterate
• untaught
• unintellectual
• whacky
• dippy
• nutty
• lowbrow
• unthinking
• daffy
• unwise
• zany
• balmy
• dotty
• invalid
• cuckoo
• loony
• illogical
• sappy
• daft
• wacky
• preposterous
• asinine
• kooky
• fallacious
• cockeyed
• nonsensical
• boobish
• screwball
• harebrained
• crackpot
• featherheaded
• kookie
• tomfool
• half-baked

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• bright
• brilliant
• apt
• sharp
• intelligent
• quick
• fast
• keen
• smart
• clever
• acute
• nimble
• wise
• ingenious
• resourceful
• keen
• knowing
• thinking
• intellectual
• cerebral
• perceptive
• sagacious
• insightful
• astute
• savvy
• brainy
• sage
• discerning
• knowledgeable
• literate
• scholarly
• erudite
• learned
• skilled
• ultrasmart
• sharp-witted
• quick-witted
• supersmart
• sound
• hyperintelligent
• reasonable
• informed
• perspicacious
• educated
• trained
• shrewd
• sapient
• cunning
• percipient
• sensible
• wily
• valid
• prudent
• crafty
• sane
• highbrow
• logical
• judicious
• rational
• well-read
• foxy
• schooled

dim

2 of 2

verb

as in to obscure

to make dark, dim, or indistinct

the storm clouds dimmed our view of the city from the airplane

Synonyms & Similar Words

• obscure
• darken
• blur
• blacken
• overcast
• mist
• cloud
• overshadow
• shadow
• haze
• fog
• blear
• becloud
• bedim
• shroud
• conceal
• shade
• hide
• overcloud
• fuzz (up)
• befog
• eclipse
• obliterate
• dislimn
• adumbrate
• cover
• blot out
• screen
• curtain
• mask
• veil
• cloak
• camouflage
• disguise

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• brighten
• illuminate
• lighten
• light (up)
• reveal
• illumine
• expose
• uncover
• unveil

Examples of dim in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Next, the human participants underwent a relaxation exercise that included watching a nature video on a beanbag chair under dim lighting, after which new sweat samples were taken. —Sara Novak, Scientific American, 25 July 2024

Finding both of these groups orbiting so close is unusual because stars that orbit supermassive black holes are expected to be dim and much more ancient. —Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 4 July 2024

Verb

The house lights have dimmed, the spotlights are on and the semiconductor industry has taken center stage. —Steven Woo, Forbes, 3 Sep. 2024

The Olympic spark is back after the pandemic dimmed the festivities of the 2020 Tokyo Games and the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. —Eric Jackson, Sportico.com, 11 Aug. 2024

Phrases Containing dim

• dim bulb