Darkness — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Related Entry: Dark (adjective)

Dark is a different word from Darkness. The synonyms below are for dark, not for darkness.

1. being without light or without much light

   "a dark alley that most people wisely avoided"

   similar: black, caliginous, darkened, darkish, darkling, darksome, dim, dimmed, dusk, dusky, gloomy, lightless, murky, obscure, obscured, pitch-black, pitch-dark, pitchy, rayless, somber, stygian, tenebrific, tenebrous, unlit
   related: crepuscular, twilit, moonless, starless, sunless, cloudy, dull, dulled, lackluster, shadowlike, shadowy, shady, gray, leaden, pale, beclouded, befogged, clouded, foggy, fuliginous, misty, smoggy, soupy
   opposite: bright, brightened, brilliant, illuminated, illumined, light, lit, lightsome, lucent, lucid, luminous
   near: ablaze, agleam, aglitter, alight, beaming, beamy, effulgent, glaring, glowing, incandescent, lambent, radiant, relucent, resplendent, shining, sparkling, ultrabright, glossy, lustrous, shiny, floodlit, highlighted, spotlighted, moonlit, moony, starlit, sunlit

2. not having a light complexion

   "he was tall, dark, and handsome"

   similar: black, brunet, swart, swarthy
   opposite: light
   near: ashen, ashy, pale, palish, pallid, pasty, peaked, peaky, sallow, wan

3. causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer

   "her mind was filled with dark thoughts until the results of the medical test came back as negative"

   similar: black, bleak, cheerless, chill, Cimmerian, cloudy, cold, comfortless, darkening, depressing, depressive, desolate, dire, disconsolate, dismal, drear, dreary, dreich (chiefly Scottish), elegiac, forlorn, funereal, gloomy, glum, godforsaken, gray, lonely, lonesome, lugubrious, miserable, morbid, morose, murky, plutonian, saturnine, sepulchral, solemn, somber, sullen, sunless, tenebrific, tenebrous, wretched
   related: blue, dejected, depressed, despondent, down, droopy, hangdog, inconsolable, low, melancholic, melancholy, mirthless, sad, unhappy, woebegone, woeful, dim, discomfiting, discouraging, disheartening, dismaying, dispiriting, distressful, distressing, upsetting, desperate, hopeless, pessimistic, lamentable, mournful, plaintive, sorrowful, colorless, drab, dull, dour, grim, lowering, lowery, menacing, negative, oppressive, threatening
   opposite: bright, cheerful, cheering, cheery, comforting, cordial, festive, friendly, gay, heartwarming, sunshiny
   near: blithe, blithesome, buoyant, gay, jocund, jolly, joyful, joyous, merry, mirthful, encouraging, hopeful, optimistic, lighthearted, lightsome

4. given to keeping one's activities hidden from public observation or knowledge

   "the actor was always quite dark about his life before his arrival in Hollywood"

   similar: close, closemouthed, reticent, secretive, tight-mouthed, uncommunicative
   related: quiet, reserved, silent, taciturn, tight-lipped, discreet, prudent, clandestine, covert, furtive, hugger-mugger, secret, sneak, sneaky, stealthy, surreptitious, undercover, underhand, underhanded
   opposite: communicative, open
   near: candid, frank, honest, out-front, up-front, blunt, outspoken, tactless

5. having an often intentionally veiled or uncertain meaning

   "the superhero was not daunted by the villain's dark threats"

   similar: ambiguous, arcane, cryptic, deep, Delphic, double-edged, elliptical, enigmatic, equivocal, fuliginous, inscrutable, murky, mysterious, mystic, nebulous, obscure, occult, opaque
   related: abstruse, esoteric, recondite, cloaked, concealed, disguised, masked, shrouded, beclouded, bedimmed, befogged, clouded, cloudy, dim, faint, foggy, fuzzy, hazy, indistinct, indistinguishable, misty, muddy, obfuscatory, obnubilated, obscurant, shaded, shadowlike, shadowy, sphinxlike, indefinite, inexact, inexplicit, noncommittal, questionable, unclear, uncertain, undefined, undetermined, vague, impenetrable, incomprehensible, indecipherable, inexplicable, eerie, uncanny, weird, impalpable, inappreciable, intangible, invisible, unanswerable, unknowable, baffling, bewildering, confounding, confusing, mystifying, perplexing, puzzling, unfathomable, circuitous, indirect, roundabout, complex, complicated, difficult, obtuse
   opposite: accessible, clear, nonambiguous, obvious, plain, unambiguous, unequivocal
   near: comprehensible, fathomable, intelligible, knowable, legible, pellucid, understandable, bright, distinct, evident, self-evident, self-explanatory, certain, firm, strong, sure, defined, determined, direct, straightforward, definite, exact, explicit, appreciable, palpable, tangible, visible, blatant, patent, unmistakable

6. lacking in education or the knowledge gained from books

   "is known as a dark period in European history when people lived in ignorance, fear, and want"

   similar: analphabetic, benighted, ignorant, illiterate, nonliterate, rude, simple, uneducated, uninstructed, unlearned, unlettered, unread, unschooled, untaught, untutored
   related: functionally illiterate, innumerate, semiliterate, unknowledgeable, artless, lowbrow, philistine, uncultivated, uncultured, callow, green, inexperienced, innocent, naive, unsophisticated, raw, unskilled, untrained, brainless, dumb, idiotic, imbecile, moronic, stupid, witless, foolish, senseless, silly
   opposite: educated, knowledgeable, lettered, literate, schooled, well-informed, well-read
   near: brilliant, intelligent, smart, experienced, expert, trained, erudite, learned, polyhistoric, polymath, scholarly, cultivated, cultured, highbrow, intellectual, sophisticated, acquainted, aware, familiar

7. not conforming to a high moral standard; morally unacceptable

   "dark deeds that resulted in the Russian czar being known to history as Ivan the Terrible"

   similar: bad, evil, immoral, iniquitous, nefarious, rotten, sinful, unethical, unlawful, unrighteous, unsavory, vicious, vile, villainous, wicked, wrong
   related: base, contemptible, despicable, dirty, disreputable, evil-minded, ignoble, ill, infernal, low, mean, snide, sordid, atrocious, cruel, infamous, nasty, blamable, blameworthy, censurable, objectionable, obscene, offensive, reprehensible, corrupt, debased, debauched, degenerate, depraved, dissolute, libertine, loose, low-minded, perverted, reprobate, scrofulous, sick, unhealthy, cursed, cussed, defiling, noxious, pernicious, pestilential, ugly, ungodly, unwholesome, banned, barred, condemned, discouraged, forbidden, illegal, interdicted, outlawed, prohibited, proscribed, unauthorized, unclean, disallowed, execrable, lousy, miserable, wretched, errant, erring, fallen, unprincipled, unscrupulous, improper, incorrect, indecent, indecorous, naughty, unbecoming, unseemly, vulgar, dishonest, dishonorable
   opposite: decent, ethical, good, honest, honorable, just, moral, right, righteous, sublime, upright, virtuous
   near: elevated, high, high-minded, law-abiding, legitimate, lofty, noble, principled, reputable, scrupulous, allowed, authorized, legal, licensed, permissible, permitted, approved, endorsed, sanctioned, abetted, encouraged, promoted, supported, clean, correct, decent, decorous, exemplary, proper, seemly, blameless, commendable, creditable, guiltless, chaste, immaculate, incorruptible, innocent, inoffensive, irreproachable, lily-white, perfect, pure, spotless, squeaky-clean, uncorrupted, unerring, unfallen, unobjectionable, venerable, white, wholesome, esteemed, respected, upstanding, worthy