1
as in darkened
being without light or without much light
a dim, windowless room in the basement of the house
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in matte
lacking a surface luster or gloss
over time, exposure to ultraviolet light will make bright pigments turn dim
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in vague
not seen or understood clearly
have only a dim knowledge of the subject
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4
as in dumb
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily
our dog is kind of dim, but very sweet-natured
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as in to obscure
to make dark, dim, or indistinct
the storm clouds dimmed our view of the city from the airplane
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of dim
Jason Ma, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2025
Her smile had a sweetness that almost seemed to reproach those who looked at it for their dim and suspicious view of life.
—Rachel Cusk, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2025
Mae Hamilton, AFAR Media, 9 Sep. 2025
Some cells glowed brightly due to high activity, others dimmed with weaker expression, while some switched off entirely.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dim
Adjective
BofA sees dim employment prospects for young workers in the medium term, given uncertainty from the new tariffs regime, the adoption of AI, and the general drag on entry-level positions.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2025
Her smile had a sweetness that almost seemed to reproach those who looked at it for their dim and suspicious view of life.
—Rachel Cusk, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2025
Verb
Within the massive auditorium, the ceiling is lined with thousands of tiny lights resembling stars that shimmer as the lights dim.
—Mae Hamilton, AFAR Media, 9 Sep. 2025
Some cells glowed brightly due to high activity, others dimmed with weaker expression, while some switched off entirely.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dim
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dim
Adjective
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Over the weekend, around 16,000 people paid their respects to the designer at his funeral chamber at the Armani Teatro designed by Tadao Ando, filled with white flowers and paper lanterns on the floor in a diagonal grid formation dimly lit up the darkened venue.—
Luisa Zargani,
Footwear News,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Gone are the days of the ultra-matte liquid lipstick.—
Conçetta Ciarlo,
Vogue,
10 Sep. 2025
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This Lulus bag is primarily matte and clean, with just a tinge of silver on the top handle and cutesy bow.—
Alyssa Grabinski,
People.com,
22 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Allowing the President to unlawfully remove Governor Cook on unsubstantiated and vague allegations would endanger the stability of our financial system and undermine the rule of law.—
Siladitya Ray,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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But many of the recommendations were vague or lacked the teeth some experts hoped to see from a document MAHA allies for months had said would dramatically transform the health of Americans.—
Will McDuffie,
ABC News,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The reigning Super Bowl champs better hope that’s the dumbest thing that one of their players does this season.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
6 Sep. 2025
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Sometimes, actors play a slightly dumber iteration of themselves; think James Van Der Beek in Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23 and Liam Neeson in Life’s Too Short (a performance that got Neeson cast in this year’s The Naked Gun).—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The bill would prohibit federal and local law enforcement officers from wearing masks that obscure their identity during public-facing operations, with exemptions for medical and undercover purposes.—
Amelia Wu,
Sacbee.com,
12 Sep. 2025
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Justin shares Jack with wife Hailey Baldwin Bieber, and while the couple often shares photos of their son, his face is often obscured.—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Interestingly, Lorraine has taught Judy to ward off her frightening visions by using a nursery rhyme, effectively teaching her to suppress her dark side.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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The Dolphins wear white jerseys at home for afternoon games, forcing opponents to wear darker colors that absorb more heat.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Applebee’s recently managed its first quarter of same-store sales growth after eight consecutive declines, a faint improvement, but one that pales in comparison to the surge at Chili’s or the steady gains at Olive Garden.—
Jim Osman,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
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This leads to signals that are often faint, easily drowned out by background noise, and difficult to isolate in complex biological environments such as blood or tissue.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Biden, who ended his bid for a second White House term 107 days before last year's election, has been relatively slow to move on presidential library planning compared with most of his recent predecessors.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
7 Sep. 2025
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With Parkinson’s, doctors implant electrodes in the brain that produce electrical impulses to disrupt the abnormal signals that cause tremors, stiffness and slow movement.—
Jen Christensen,
CNN Money,
7 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dim.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dim. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
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