blacken

verb

black·​en ˈbla-kən 

blackened; blackening

ˈblak-niŋ,

ˈbla-kə- 

intransitive verb

: to become dark or black

the sky blackens

transitive verb

1

: to make black

2

: defame, sully

blackened her reputation

blackener

ˈblak-nər

ˈbla-kə- 

noun

Synonyms

• befoul
• begrime
• bemire
• besmirch
• daub
• dirty
• distain [archaic]
• foul
• gaum [dialect]
• grime
• mire
• muck
• muddy
• smirch
• smudge
• soil
• stain
• sully

Examples of blacken in a Sentence

Fire had blackened the field.

The sky blackened as the storm approached.

Their false accusations failed to blacken my reputation.

a presidency blackened by scandal

Recent Examples on the Web

But the task has been performed so many times that dust and metal from the robot’s fingers have blackened the edges. —James Somers, The New Yorker, 25 Nov. 2024

The fire burned for 64 days, blackening 429,603 acres in Butte and Tehama counties and destroying 709 homes and other structures. —Paul Rogers, The Mercury News, 15 Nov. 2024

But the wreckage remains — some 243 structures destroyed, a quarter of Ventura County’s avocado groves blackened, power lines downed, miles of irrigation pipes melted ... and a beloved perennial nursery in Somis burned and nearly shuttered. —Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2024

Characters like Felix and Oswald have kind of an unfortunate connection to theater insofar as they’re associated with blackface minstrelsy—the notoriously racist form of stage performance where actors would blacken their faces, wear white gloves, and perform clownish antics. —Tim Brinkhof, JSTOR Daily, 9 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English blaknen, blakenen, from blak black entry 1 + -n, -en -en entry 2

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Kids Definition

blacken

verb

black·​en ˈblak-ən 

blackened; blackening ˈblak-(ə-)niŋ 

1

: to make or become dark or black

2

: to hurt the reputation of

blackener

-(ə-)nər 

noun