1
as in to frown
to take on a gloomy or forbidding look
his face slowly darkened as we told him the sad news
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in to obscure
to make dark, dim, or indistinct
years of accumulated grime have darkened the painting until it can barely be seen
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to mar
to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable
the scandal darkened his otherwise sterling reputation
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of darken
Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5 goes well beyond just the darkening reality in America.
—
Matthew Carey, Deadline, 17 May 2025
Her family of eight piled in – freshly dressed and coiffed, from her 9-month-old grandson to her 79-year-old father – for a hair-rising ride through traffic back to the darkening square.
—Caitlin Stephen Hu, CNN Money, 12 May 2025
Let this papacy be a light in darkening times and, astonishingly, a rare moment to be proud to be an American.
—Chicago Tribune, 11 May 2025
If the test line matched or darkened beyond the control line, one was said to be fertile.
—Anonymous, Vogue, 10 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for darken
Matthew Carey, Deadline, 17 May 2025
Her family of eight piled in – freshly dressed and coiffed, from her 9-month-old grandson to her 79-year-old father – for a hair-rising ride through traffic back to the darkening square.
—Caitlin Stephen Hu, CNN Money, 12 May 2025
Let this papacy be a light in darkening times and, astonishingly, a rare moment to be proud to be an American.
—Chicago Tribune, 11 May 2025
If the test line matched or darkened beyond the control line, one was said to be fertile.
—Anonymous, Vogue, 10 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for darken
Recent Examples of Synonyms for darken
Verb
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Adapt To The Culture In some workplace cultures, saying no outright may be frowned upon.—
Diana Lowe,
Forbes.com,
29 May 2025
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Two, those hockey gods MacFarland referred to tend to frown on trading away quality for quantity.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
7 May 2025
Verb
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However, the glamour faded soon after the team docked in Manhattan.—
Andy Mitten,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
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That faded, and Maresca’s task will be maintaining the charge next season.—
Zak Garner-Purkis,
Forbes.com,
29 May 2025
Verb
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The raw data obscures just how substantial and prolonged the downfall of the little guy in the NBA has been.—
Lev Akabas,
Sportico.com,
6 June 2025
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Complicating matters further are sophisticated networks of onshore and offshore actors who facilitate illicit operations by obscuring catch data, obfuscating labor abuses, and lobbying to maintain lax regulations, according to C4ADS.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 June 2025
Verb
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However, relatively decent growth fueled by Putin's record military spending has been marred by inflation and a worker shortage impacted by those fleeing the draft and troop losses in Ukraine as experts warn of longer terms problems for the economy.—
Brendan Cole,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 May 2025
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Lynch’s first winter as CEO was marred by long lift lines and employee shortages driven by COVID-19.—
Kurt Badenhausen,
Sportico.com,
27 May 2025
Verb
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Things began to get chippy in the bottom half of the fifth after OSU’s Trent Caraway stared Sloan down after drawing a two-out walk.—
Alyssa Cooper,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
31 May 2025
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Meanwhile, Cauley was staring at a long road to recovery.—
Kendall Capps,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 May 2025
Verb
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Some of the jewel beetle wings had their original green-yellow-red hues while others had blackened.—
Aspen Pflughoeft,
Miami Herald,
22 May 2025
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If a vigorous plant begins to blacken at the top or whole branches are dying back, this is a sign that something is wrong.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
10 May 2025
Verb
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Contemplating the issue from a more macro standpoint, AI is increasingly blurring the lines around what constitutes academic honesty.—
Michael Ashley,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
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Anyone moving from a smartphone up to the EOS 2000D will be amazed by the image quality and the ability to produce shots with beautiful bokeh (background blur).—
Rowena Cockett,
Space.com,
26 May 2025
Verb
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Dodge won't spoil the surprise by confirming if the last one will be based on the Charger or the Challenger (or maybe both), but the evidence suggests the latter is more likely.—
Jack Fitzgerald,
Car and Driver,
13 Feb. 2023
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Farmers’ broiler chickens suffocate, and dairy products spoil.—
Monica Mark,
The Christian Science Monitor,
10 Feb. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Darken.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/darken. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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