# dark

Pronunciation: US say "DAHRK" /dɑɹk/; UK say "DAHK" /dɑːk/

## Adjective

1. Having little or no light, either because light does not reach a place or because its lamps or lights are not on.
   - Simple: With little or no light, so it is hard to see, or with the lights turned off.
   - _The cave grew completely dark once we rounded the bend._
   - _A dark hallway stretched ahead, lit only by a faint glow under one door._
2. Deeper or duller in shade; not bright or pale in color.
   - Simple: Deep or strong in color, not light or pale.
   - _The walls were painted a dark shade of crimson._
   - _Her dark hair shone against the pale linen of the pillow._
3. Lacking moral or spiritual goodness; sinister or malevolent.
   - Simple: Evil or full of bad intentions.
   - _A dark impulse seemed to drive his cruelest decisions._
   - _The novel explores the dark urges hidden in otherwise ordinary people._
4. Gloomy, sad or without hope, as of a time, mood or outlook, especially after something tragic: dark days; a dark picture of the year ahead.
   - Simple: Very sad, gloomy or without hope, like a bad time in life or a grim view of the future.
   - _Economists painted a dark picture of the coming year._
   - _Her thoughts turned dark whenever she considered the long road ahead._
6. Emphasizing the unpleasant and macabre aspects of life, said of a story, film, or similar work.
   - Simple: Focused on the grim, scary, or unpleasant parts of life, as in a story or film.
   - _Critics praised the show's dark humor and grim subject matter._
   - _His later novels took a dark turn toward horror and despair._
7. Of a person, having brown or black hair or eyes, or a brown or black skin tone.
   - Simple: Used about a person with black or brown hair or eyes, or with brown or black skin.
   - _He was dark and slender, with deep brown eyes that missed nothing._
   - _Both parents are fair, yet their youngest child is noticeably darker than the others._
9. Temporarily out of operation or use, as when closed, turned off, or no longer in contact.
   - Simple: Not working or in use for a while, for example closed, turned off, or not sending any messages.
   - _Most Broadway houses went dark for more than a year during the shutdown._
   - _The suspect's social media accounts have been dark since March._
11. Marked by or carried out in secrecy.
   - Simple: Kept secret or hidden from other people.
   - _The agency ran dark operations far from any public oversight._
   - _The company kept its merger plans dark, telling only a handful of senior staff._
12. Showing little or no advancement in science or the arts during a given period.
   - Simple: Not moving forward in science, learning, or art.
   - _Historians long portrayed the early medieval era as dark and intellectually stagnant._
   - _Historians now question whether the early medieval centuries were really as dark as earlier writers claimed._
14. Expressed in an ambiguous or unclear way; obscure in meaning.
   - Simple: Not clear or easy to understand.
   - _The prophecy was couched in dark, riddling language._
   - _Her dark hints left everyone guessing at what she actually meant._
16. Unable to see; deprived of sight; blind. *(dialectal)*
   - Simple: Blind, and not able to see.

## Noun

5. A complete or partial absence of light.
   - Simple: The state of having little or no light.
   - _He stumbled in the dark, searching for the lamp on the table._
   - _Owls hunt easily in the dark using their sharp hearing._
8. The onset of night; nightfall.
   - Simple: The time of evening when night begins.
   - _They reached the campsite just before dark._
   - _In winter the streets empty quickly after dark._
10. A lack of knowledge or awareness; ignorance.
   - Simple: A state of not knowing something that others may know.
   - _Management kept employees in the dark about the merger._
   - _Voters were left in the dark regarding the real costs of the plan._

## Verb

15. To remain hidden or concealed; to lurk in darkness. *(dialectal, UK)*
   - Simple: To stay hidden in the shadows and wait.

## Verb

13. To become dark, or to make something dark; to darken. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To get darker, or to make something darker. An old word, now rarely used.

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Having racing ability that is not widely known, often kept secret on purpose.
- (noun) An area of shadow or deeply shaded tone in a painting, engraving, or similar work.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–4, 6–7, 9, 11–12, 14, 16** — From Middle English derk, from Old English deorc ("dark") and Proto-West Germanic *derk. Its ultimate origin is uncertain, but it possibly goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dʰerg- ("dim, dull").
**Meanings 5, 8, 10** — The noun was formed in Middle English from the adjective "dark," with the spellings derk, derke, dirke, and dyrke. Another possibility is an Old English *dierce or *diercu, meaning "dark, darkness," which is not found in any surviving record.
**Meanings 13, 15** — Proto-West Germanic *derkōn developed into Old English deorcian, which became Middle English derken.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/dark (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).