darkness

noun

DARK-nis/ˈdɑɹknɪs/UKDARK-nuhs/ˈdɑːknəs/

Pluraldarknesses (some meanings)

10 meanings of darkness

1
noununcountable
When there is no light, or very little light, in a place.
Like closing your eyes in a room with no windows.
After the power went out, the whole house sat in darkness.
We waited in the darkness for our eyes to adjust.
Similarblackness, gloom, murk, shadow
Oppositelight, brightness, daylight
2
noununcountable
How dark a color is, when it reflects very little light.
Like how a chocolate bar looks much deeper in color than a vanilla one.
The darkness of the wood gave the table a rich, deep look.
I love the darkness of this coffee-colored paint.
Oppositelightness, paleness
3
noununcountable
A sad, gloomy feeling, like being very low or down.
Like a gray cloud that won't leave your mind.
A deep darkness settled over him after the loss.
She fought the darkness that filled her thoughts each winter.
Similargloom, despair, melancholy, depression
Oppositejoy, cheer
4
noununcountable
The state of keeping something hidden or secret from others.
Like hiding a gift so no one finds out before the party.
The company kept its layoffs in darkness until the very last day.
He preferred to act in darkness, telling no one of his real aims.
Similarsecrecy, concealment
Oppositeopenness, transparency
5
noununcountable
Not knowing something, or something that is hard to understand.
Like a question no one has been able to answer yet.
For years the cause of the illness remained in darkness.
Science slowly pushes back the darkness of the unknown.
Similarobscurity, mystery, ignorance
Oppositeclarity
6
noununcountable
A lack of kindness or understanding, like being blind in heart or mind.
Like a heart that has gone cold to other people's pain.
Cruelty grows from the darkness in a person's heart.
He acted with a darkness that showed no care for others.
Similarblindness, ignorance
Oppositeenlightenment
7
nouncountable or uncountable
A space that is filled with a dark color.
Like the dark patch where ink has soaked the page.
The corner of the painting dissolved into a brown darkness.
Shadows pooled into a darkness at the back of the alcove.
Similarshadow, blackness
8
noununcountable
Hell, thought of as a place of punishment after death.
The preacher warned that the unrepentant would be cast into darkness.
In the old texts, the damned are dragged down into darkness.
Similarhell, damnation, perdition
Oppositeheaven, paradise
9
noununcountable
Emptiness or nothingness, or a feeling that things have no meaning.
Like an empty box you hoped would hold something.
After his fame faded, he felt only a vast darkness inside.
All his striving seemed to end in darkness and emptiness.
Similarnothingness, emptiness, void
10
nouncountable
Something dark that forms or appears in a place, like a patch of dark.
A strange darkness hung over the room.
There was a darkness in the corner he couldn't explain.
Similarshadow

Practice

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Origin

It comes from old English words meaning "dark," made by adding "-ness" to "dark."