Definition of dark age
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
With most of the studio’s fabled animators having retired and productions being scaled back, Disney entered a dark age of animation marked by edgier stories and alienated audiences.
—
Josh Spiegel, Vulture, "A Crash Course in the History of Disney Animation Through Disney+," 11 Jan. 2021
Foundation tells the story of Hari Seldon and his followers, who use the futuristic science of psychohistory to plot their course through a galactic dark age and preserve scientific knowledge.
—
WIRED, "‘Foundation’ Has One of the Best Sci-Fi Concepts Ever," 2 Oct. 2020
The popularity of adrenochrome harvesting theories shows how motivated actors remain two steps ahead of intervention, and how our information systems, if uncorrected, may accelerate the arrival of a new dark age.
—
Brian Friedberg, Wired, "The Dark Virality of a Hollywood Blood-Harvesting Conspiracy," 31 July 2020
Our votes in this election will determine if our country survives or slides into a new dark age.
—
Katie Bain, Billboard, "Walker & Royce, Ardalan & More Share Their Rave the Vote Sets and Reflect on Why They're Voting This November," 18 Aug. 2020
Much of the plot concerns the fall of a certain Galactic Empire (ahem), and a desperate, surprisingly math-heavy attempt to save human civilization from a vast, bleak dark age.
—
Emma Grey Ellis, Wired, "Foundation's Producer on Asimov, Covid-19, and Race in Sci-Fi," 4 July 2020
Decide whether man goes forward toward the light, Stumbling and striving, clumsy—but a man!—
Or back to the dark ages, the dark gods,
The old barbaric forest that is fear.
—
Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, "The National Emergency Library Is a Gift to Readers Everywhere," 26 Mar. 2020
During the early part of those dark ages, Dad carried the load.
—
Kevin Helliker, WSJ, "From Dawson to Mahomes—One Family’s 53-Year Chiefs Journey," 2 Feb. 2020
Punishing this whistleblower for doing his job sends us back to the dark ages.
—
Ricardo Alonso-zaldivar, Houston Chronicle, "Expert claims reprisal for opposing virus drug Trump touted," 23 Apr. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dark age.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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“Dark age.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dark%20age. Accessed 13 Apr. 2021.
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The first known use of dark age was in 1640
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