# darkness

Pronunciation: US say "DARK-nis" /ˈdɑɹknɪs/; UK say "DARK-nuhs" /ˈdɑːknəs/

## Noun

1. The state of being dark; the complete or partial absence of light.
   - Simple: When there is no light, or very little light, in a place.
   - _Total darkness fell over the valley once the last lamp was extinguished._
   - _In the cave's darkness, the explorers relied entirely on touch._
2. The quality of reflecting little light, tending toward a black or brown color.
   - Simple: How dark a color is, when it reflects very little light.
   - _The darkness of her hair contrasted sharply with her pale skin._
   - _Roasting the beans longer increases the darkness of the final blend._
3. A state of gloom, low spirits, or emotional depression that weighs on a person.
   - Simple: A sad, gloomy feeling, like being very low or down.
   - _His poetry channels the darkness of years spent grieving._
   - _A creeping darkness colored every conversation she had that month._
4. A condition of secrecy or concealment in which actions are kept hidden from public view.
   - Simple: The state of keeping something hidden or secret from others.
   - _The conspiracy thrived in darkness, its members never named in public._
   - _Such deals depend on darkness, where no record is ever traced._
5. A lack of knowledge; obscurity of meaning or intelligibility; the realm of the unknown.
   - Simple: Not knowing something, or something that is hard to understand.
   - _The origins of the language are lost in darkness._
   - _Their research aimed to lift the darkness surrounding the disease._
6. A lack of understanding or compassion, amounting to spiritual or mental blindness.
   - Simple: A lack of kindness or understanding, like being blind in heart or mind.
   - _The sermon warned against the darkness of a soul closed to mercy._
   - _Prejudice springs from a darkness that refuses to see others clearly._
7. Any space or expanse that a dark, blackish color fills or pervades.
   - Simple: A space that is filled with a dark color.
   - _In the portrait, the figure's cloak melts into the surrounding darkness._
   - _The photographer balanced bright highlights against a velvety darkness._
8. Hell; the place of damnation or eternal punishment.
   - Simple: Hell, thought of as a place of punishment after death.
   - _Scripture speaks of the wicked being banished to the outer darkness._
   - _He feared that his sins would condemn him to eternal darkness._
9. Nothingness, emptiness, or vanity; the absence of substance or meaning.
   - Simple: Emptiness or nothingness, or a feeling that things have no meaning.
   - _The philosopher wrote of life's pleasures dissolving into darkness._
   - _Beneath all the wealth and noise lay nothing but darkness._
10. A particular instance or product of being dark; a discrete patch of dark.
   - Simple: Something dark that forms or appears in a place, like a patch of dark.
   - _An unnatural darkness gathered where the smoke had been._
   - _She painted a darkness so thick it seemed to swallow the light._

## Origin

From Middle English derknesse, from Old English deorcnes; it is simply "dark" plus the suffix "-ness."

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