dark age

noun

1
: a time during which a civilization undergoes a decline: such as
a
Dark Ages plural : the European historical period from about a.d. 476 to about 1000
broadly : middle ages
b
or Dark Age : the Greek historical period of three to four centuries from about 1100 b.c.
often plural
2
or Dark Age
a
: the primitive period in the development of something
usually plural
in the dark ages of medicine
b
: a state of stagnation or decline
usually plural

Examples of dark age in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The Handmaid’s Tale, a dystopian drama adapted from Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel of the same name, centers on Elisabeth Moss’ June, a woman living in a dark age who sees her family and former life stripped away. Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 27 May 2025 In his Foundation series, Asimov wrote about a hero who must prevent humanity from being thrown into a long dark age after a massive galactic empire collapses. Sigal Samuel, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018 Is Trump leading the U.S. into an economic dark age? Mike Patton, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025 If this is the future of artificial intelligence, the AI era is going to be a dark age indeed. Wired Staff, WIRED, 30 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for dark age

Word History

First Known Use

1640, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of dark age was in 1640

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Cite this Entry

“Dark age.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dark%20age. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.

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