1
as in to frown
to take on a gloomy or forbidding look
his face slowly darkened as we told him the sad news
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of darken
Apparently, the concert’s pyrotechnics, located directly underneath the banners, literally darkened the legacy of the team in a way the stories of Michael Jordan’s gambling and Dennis Rodman’s smelliness never could.
—
Jesse David Fox, Vulture, 14 Mar. 2025
Early Friday morning, a red moon will darken over Chicago skies.
—Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2025
Their perfect alignment darkens the moon, from the perspective of folks looking up, because our planet's position blocks most sunlight from reaching it.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 13 Mar. 2025
This alignment prevents sunlight from directly reaching the moon, so the moon appears darkened or takes on a reddish hue.
—Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for darken
Jesse David Fox, Vulture, 14 Mar. 2025
Early Friday morning, a red moon will darken over Chicago skies.
—Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2025
Their perfect alignment darkens the moon, from the perspective of folks looking up, because our planet's position blocks most sunlight from reaching it.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 13 Mar. 2025
This alignment prevents sunlight from directly reaching the moon, so the moon appears darkened or takes on a reddish hue.
—Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for darken
Recent Examples of Synonyms for darken
Verb
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No matter how much potential a wellness offering has, if middle managers, for instance, frown upon their employees attending them, the initiatives will have limited success.—
Ellen Choi,
Forbes,
20 Mar. 2025
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Doctors frown at something mysterious and disturbing.—
Samuel Ashworth,
The Atlantic,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The possible explanatory layers overwhelm, and so there’s an honesty to how the series opts to focus on the devastation instead, fading out on the image of the Miller family torn apart and Eddie breaking down on Jamie’s bed.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
19 Mar. 2025
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Now, Trump's personal and fading legal troubles—combined with his brash policies concerning issues like immigration, executive power, and corporate regulations—are once again driving people to law school.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
18 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Baseball’s celebration of that day often obscures the fact that MLB hasn’t been African American friendly in decades.—
Terence Moore,
Forbes,
22 Mar. 2025
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As recalls have been announced, Cybertruck sales have seemingly slumped, as Tesla obscured the true figures by lumping numbers in with sales of Model X and Model S, MotorTrend reported.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Rodgers was cut by the New York Jets earlier this year following two seasons marred by an achilles injury and 6-12 overall record as the team’s starting quarterback.—
Sean Neumann,
People.com,
20 Mar. 2025
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For Harris and his teammates, March Madness presents an opportunity for redemption after a season marred by a dozen losses.—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
19 Mar. 2025
Verb
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But halfway into the season, Moiraine has mostly done a lot of staring and a little bit of really amateurish manipulation that backfires spectacularly.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes,
18 Mar. 2025
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JuJu Watkins, the star sophomore, stared blankly ahead, offering only a slow, deliberate clap.—
Austin Knoblauch,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Unlike a total solar eclipse, when the disk of the sun is completely blackened, an eclipsed moon does not vanish completely from the sky.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
TIME,
11 Mar. 2025
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But the negro resents and utterly repudiates the effort to blacken his good name by asserting that assaults upon women are peculiar to his race.—
Liz Tracey,
JSTOR Daily,
21 Feb. 2025
Verb
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On the other hand, holding a company liable for one person’s speech blurs the line between individual and collective responsibility.—
Kwame Anthony Appiah,
New York Times,
26 Mar. 2025
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Though rooted in self-love, these trends can blur the line between care and consumerism.—
Jasmine Browley,
Essence,
26 Mar. 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
Cite this Entry
“Darken.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/darken. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
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