: unpleasantly moist or wet
a dank basement
dankly adverb
dankness noun
Choose the Right Synonym for dank

wet, damp, dank, moist, humid mean covered or more or less soaked with liquid.

wet usually implies saturation but may suggest a covering of a surface with water or something (such as paint) not yet dry.

slipped on the wet pavement

damp implies a slight or moderate absorption and often connotes an unpleasant degree of moisture.

clothes will mildew if stored in a damp place

dank implies a more distinctly disagreeable or unwholesome dampness.

a prisoner in a cold, dank cell

moist applies to what is slightly damp or not felt as dry.

treat the injury with moist heat

humid applies to the presence of much water vapor in the air.

a hot, humid climate

Examples of dank in a Sentence

vegetables tended to go bad quickly in the dank cellar
Recent Examples on the Web Dark, dank, and dated, not much has changed since then, despite connecting millions of commuters and travelers to the city's sprawling network of airports, subways, and train stations. Rachel Chang, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Feb. 2024 The tunnels are dark — most of the network, save for the entrances, is out of the reach of sunlight — and dank. Bryan Pietsch, Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2023 Her parents found ways to support themselves while living in a dank cellar. Cynthia Greenlee, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Feb. 2024 After seven days hiding in a dank and dark tunnel deep in the bowels of the sprawling Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol as the city burned around him, Pfc. Oleksandr Ivantsov was on the verge of collapse. Marc Santora, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2023 Among many other things, the opera is a study in inequality, the Nibelungs living in a dank underworld. Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2024 On the heels of legal weed and the growing fervor around microdosing, magic mushroom chocolates have made the leap from dry caps and dank truffles to luxe candy bars and bon bons. Meghan McCarron, Bon Appétit, 24 Jan. 2024 The courtrooms now are classrooms and the dank holding cells are open to the community as places to pay respect to friends and family who have been or remain incarcerated. Corie Brown, Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2023 Sporting a gaudy striped suit, sparkling platform heels and an array of Elton John-esque statement glasses, this Touchstone breaks the fourth wall with abandon and keeps going back to the comic well (literally — one recurring gag involves drinking from a dank pool of water). Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 8 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dank.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English danke

First Known Use

1573, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dank was in 1573

Dictionary Entries Near dank

Cite this Entry

“Dank.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dank. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

dank

adjective
: unpleasantly moist or wet
dankly adverb
dankness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on dank

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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