the Dark Ages

plural noun

1

: the period of European history from about A.D. 500 to 1000 : the first 500 years of the Middle Ages

2

or the dark ages often humorous : the period of time before things developed into their modern form

In the dark ages before computers, we often wrote our letters by hand.

Her father's ideas about women are from the Dark Ages.

Examples of the Dark Ages in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Greenlandic Debris in Iceland Likely Tied To Bond Event 1 Ice Rafting in the Dark Ages Sam Walters is a journalist covering archaeology, paleontology, ecology, and evolution for Discover, along with an assortment of other topics. —Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 17 Apr. 2025

The first serious attempt was DARE, the Dark Ages Radio Explorer. —ArsTechnica, 16 Apr. 2025

But beneath the Dark Ages warrior exterior is an keen grasp of a new type of warfare. —David Hambling, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025

For these children, the Dark Ages had returned, in every sense. —Murr Brewster, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Feb. 2025

The name was meant to invoke the rebirth of classical Roman values, which brought the Dark Ages to a close and ushered in the Renaissance. —David Conrads, The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Jan. 2025

Set in Europe during the Dark Ages, the story sees hordes from Hell invading Europe when the Six Petals, a secret sect of the Knights Templar, pray to God to drive back the demonic scourge. —Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Jan. 2025

Any historian doing the Dark Ages is basically freewheeling. —H. Alan Scott, Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2024

Turns out, the new case management system heralded by some as the courthouse's escape from the Dark Ages was glitching. —Brooke Park, San Antonio Express-News, 3 Oct. 2024

Rhymes for the Dark Ages

• disengages
• macrophages
• bacteriophages
• cages
• gages
• gauges
• mages
• pages
• phages
• sages
• stages
• wages