darkened; darkening
ˈdär-kə-niŋ 
1
: to grow dark : become obscured
the skies were darkening
2
: to become gloomy
his mood darkened
1
: to make dark
2
: to make less clear : obscure
the financial crisis darkened the future of the company
4
: to cast a gloom over
5
: to make of darker color
Examples of darken in a Sentence
The sky darkened and it started to rain.
Her face darkens to a deep red when she gets angry.
The wood will darken as it ages.
The bad news darkened his mood.
The last days of her life were darkened by illness.
His mood darkened after he heard the bad news.
Recent Examples on the Web
As totality approached the temperature dropped and the skies darkened.
—
Elizabeth Gamillo, Discover Magazine, 16 Apr. 2024
As skies darkened Monday over North America during a rare solar eclipse, many people noticed bright dots — flickering spots that were reddish, pink and orange in hue — along the periphery of the moon and Sun.
—John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 9 Apr. 2024
As the sky darkened, tensions over the standoff seemed to disappear from people’s minds.
—Arelis R. Hernández, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
The flamboyance of Caribbean Flamingo huddled together as the skies darkened, as if nesting.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Apr. 2024
The sky darkened, Lucas said, encompassing the Ohio hospital room in an eerie darkness with a few dim rays of light peaking through.
—Minnah Arshad, USA TODAY, 9 Apr. 2024
During a total solar eclipse, the sky can darken significantly, resembling twilight or even dusk, depending on factors such as atmospheric conditions, the duration of totality and the observer's location.
—The Arizona Republic, 8 Apr. 2024
For 2 minutes and 33 seconds, the sky darkened to the pall of twilight at 1:41 p.m.
Dozens of volunteers — from high school students to doctoral candidates — fanned out across the pens and enclosures of the zoo to record how the animals react to a total solar eclipse.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Apr. 2024
Things are going to get a little wacky on April 8th, when a total solar eclipse will darken skies over North America.
—Justine Calma, The Verge, 8 Apr. 2024
Elizabeth Gamillo, Discover Magazine, 16 Apr. 2024
As skies darkened Monday over North America during a rare solar eclipse, many people noticed bright dots — flickering spots that were reddish, pink and orange in hue — along the periphery of the moon and Sun.
—John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 9 Apr. 2024
As the sky darkened, tensions over the standoff seemed to disappear from people’s minds.
—Arelis R. Hernández, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
The flamboyance of Caribbean Flamingo huddled together as the skies darkened, as if nesting.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Apr. 2024
The sky darkened, Lucas said, encompassing the Ohio hospital room in an eerie darkness with a few dim rays of light peaking through.
—Minnah Arshad, USA TODAY, 9 Apr. 2024
During a total solar eclipse, the sky can darken significantly, resembling twilight or even dusk, depending on factors such as atmospheric conditions, the duration of totality and the observer's location.
—The Arizona Republic, 8 Apr. 2024
For 2 minutes and 33 seconds, the sky darkened to the pall of twilight at 1:41 p.m.
Dozens of volunteers — from high school students to doctoral candidates — fanned out across the pens and enclosures of the zoo to record how the animals react to a total solar eclipse.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Apr. 2024
Things are going to get a little wacky on April 8th, when a total solar eclipse will darken skies over North America.
—Justine Calma, The Verge, 8 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'darken.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near darken
Cite this Entry
“Darken.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/darken. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
darken
verb
dark·en
ˈdär-kən
darkened; darkening
ˈdärk-(ə-)niŋ
1
: to make or grow dark or darker
the sky darkened
2
: to make or become gloomy or forbidding
her face darkened in anger
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