blacken

verb

ˈbla-kən How to pronounce blacken (audio)
Definition of blackennext
1
as in to stain
to make dirty blackened the towels with their dirty hands

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2
as in to libel
to make untrue and harmful statements about the politician maliciously blackened his opponent's reputation

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3
as in to darken
to make dark, dim, or indistinct thick smoke from the forest fires blackened the sky for many miles

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4
as in to dusk
to grow dark the auditorium blackened suddenly, and a spotlighted performer appeared alone on stage

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of blacken Footage shot later at daybreak showed the house gutted, charred and blackened from the inside out. — Zeena Saifi, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2026 After the first killing frost blackens their foliage, wait for a dry day and gently lift them with a garden fork. — Pam Rosendal, Denver Post, 27 Sep. 2026 Lines at Russian gas stations, crippled refineries, and images of burning oil depots blackening the sky lent credence to the narrative, as did blackouts and fuel shortages in Crimea. — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 26 Sep. 2026 There’s more than just blackening bananas; electrodes embedded in the fruit transmit electrical signals into sound and light tones that constantly shift. — Jane Wooldridge, Miami Herald, 24 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for blacken
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blacken
  1. stain
  2. libel
  3. darken
  4. dirty
  5. smear
  6. obscure
  7. besmirch
  8. humiliate
Verb
  • Donning a pink skirt suit and matching pillbox hat stained with fake blood, Fox stepped out as the former First Lady during an event for Urban Decay.
    — Daysia Tolentino, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2026
  • The sculptures were frequently stained with graphite or chalk dust, whose force of presence was comparable to that of cliff or cave, capable of stunning the viewer into silence.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of stain
Verb
  • In 2022, Manhattan Federal Judge Jed Rakoff, who presided over both trials, decided The Times was not liable for defamation while jurors were deliberating, that the error amounted to unfortunate editorializing but not libel.
    — Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 22 Apr. 2025
  • As a new, inexpensive Chevrolet appeared in 1927 and The Dearborn Independent was sued for libeling a number of Jewish businessmen, Ford threw in the towel and apologized.
    — George Pendle, airmail.news, 15 Mar. 2025
Definition of libel
Verb
  • Again, some are pretty obvious—wide-angle broadens the lens's view, Vignette darkens the edges, and Soft Focus captures glowing, ethereal pictures.
    — Jim Fisher, PC Magazine, 5 Nov. 2026
  • This approach offers a bold personal statement without overwhelming or darkening the entire room.
    — Timothy Dale, The Spruce, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of darken
Verb
  • Dirty Dishes Apart from making your kitchen look disorganized, letting dishes pile up can lead to food debris and grime dirtying your sink and attracting pests.
    — Abby Monteil, The Spruce, 2 Nov. 2026
  • To even wade into the arguments might dirty your hands, and mind.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of dirty
Verb
  • For months now, so much vitriol crept into our TVs, interrupting the Bears or your favorite college football team with a special message from a super PAC or a partisan looking to score points by smearing their opponents.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 2026
  • With a major election less than a week away, candidates and their consultants are pounding Floridians with a barrage of words — some intended to cast themselves in a flattering light, some intended to smear and degrade their opponents.
    — Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of smear
Verb
  • As light mist obscured the far-off Chicago skyline, only the faint sounds of metal cranes clanging and construction vehicles beeping in the distance broke up the quiet morning at Park 566 in South Shore.
    — Finnegan Belleau, Chicago Tribune, 6 Nov. 2026
  • The result is enough glare remaining to obscure a planet, but Wang and colleagues developed a new approach to this problem.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of obscure
Verb
  • Our nation’s capital is besmirched, on his say-so, with signs and banners bearing his likeness and name.
    — Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Troubled by all the people besmirching the occupation, a group of agents formed a national trade group in 1908—the one eventually known as NAR.
    — Michael Waters, The Atlantic, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of besmirch
Verb
  • From coast to coast, and in some of the reddest parts of the country, Republicans were humiliated.
    — Lauren Peller, ABC News, 10 Nov. 2026
  • Weaving the narratives together creates a fuller picture of generations of men and women who, however imperfectly, did their best to carve out lives for themselves in a world determined to humiliate them.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of humiliate

Browse Nearby Words

blacked out
blacken
blackened
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Cite this Entry

“Blacken.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blacken. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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