dim

1 of 4

adjective

ˈdim 

dimmer; dimmest

1

a

: emitting or having a limited or insufficient amount of light

dim stars

a dim lamp

a dim hallway

b

: dull, lusterless

dim colors

c

: lacking pronounced, clear-cut, or vigorous quality or character

a dim echo of the past

2

a

: seen indistinctly

a dim outline

b

: perceived by the senses or mind indistinctly or weakly : faint

had only a dim notion of what was going on

c

: having little prospect of favorable result or outcome

a dim future

d

: characterized by an unfavorable, skeptical, or pessimistic attitude

—usually used in the phrase take a dim view of

takes a dim view of human nature

3

: dim-witted

too dim to understand the joke

4

: not perceiving clearly and distinctly

dim eyes

dimly adverb

dimmable

ˈdi-mə-bəl 

adjective

dimness noun

dim

2 of 4

verb

dimmed; dimming

transitive verb

1

: to reduce the light from

dim the headlights

2

: to make dim or lusterless

dimmed their hopes of an early settlement

intransitive verb

: to become dim

the lights dimmed

their beauty had dimmed

dim

3 of 4

noun

1

automotive vehicles : low beam

2

archaic : dusk, dimness

dim

4 of 4

abbreviation

1

dimension

2

diminished

3

diminuendo

4

diminutive

Synonyms

Adjective

• black
• caliginous
• dark
• darkened
• darkish
• darkling
• darksome
• dimmed
• dusk
• dusky
• gloomy
• lightless
• murky
• obscure
• obscured
• pitch-black
• pitch-dark
• pitchy
• rayless
• somber
• sombre
• stygian
• tenebrific
• tenebrous
• unlit

Verb

• becloud
• bedim
• befog
• blacken
• blear
• blur
• cloud
• darken
• dislimn
• fog
• fuzz (up)
• haze
• mist
• obscure
• overcast
• overcloud
• overshadow
• shadow
• shroud

Examples of dim in a Sentence

Adjective

Just the dim outline of the building could be seen through the fog.

I have a dim memory of your last visit.

Verb

The latest setback has dimmed hopes of an early settlement.

Hopes of an early settlement have dimmed.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

There weren’t even tourists in the House chamber, and the Capitol was already dim and empty for the day. —Ben Jacobs, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 14 June 2024

The pub in funky Bernal Heights still buzzes with visitors crowding around the dim wooden bar, pool table, or the back garden, wild with greens and eclectic furniture. —Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Condé Nast Traveler, 31 May 2024

Verb

His vision dimmed, his speech slowed, and his hands began to twitch. —Jason Deparle, New York Times, 10 June 2024

Ryan Gosling, whose comedic talents were criminally undervalued until last year’s runaway hit Barbie, gets to flex them again here, bringing his deadpan, affably dim charm to the role of Colt Seavers, a hot-shot stunt double for megawatt movie star Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). —Alison Willmore, Vulture, 4 June 2024

Noun

While some golfers only donned solar glasses at the moment of maximum obscurity, others tracked many of their shots through the dim of their commemorative eyewear. —Jack Bantock, CNN, 9 Apr. 2024

Middleton hasn’t been photographed in public—with the exception of two dim (and disputed) paparazzi shots of her in cars—since December. —Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective, Verb, and Noun

Middle English, from Old English dimm; akin to Old High German timber dark

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing dim

• dim bulb
• dim sum
• dim view
• dim-witted
• take a dim view
• take a dim view of
• takes a dim view
• the dim and distant past

Kids Definition

dim

1 of 2 adjective

ˈdim 

dimmer; dimmest

1

: not bright or clear : obscure, faint

a dim light

2

: being without luster : dull

dim colors

3

a

: not seeing or understanding clearly

dim eyes

b

: not seen or understood clearly

had only a dim notion of what was going on

dimly adverb

dimness noun

dim

2 of 2 verb

dimmed; dimming

1

: to make or become dim

2

: to reduce the light from

Medical Definition

dim

abbreviation

diminished