1
as in to stain
to make dirty
blackened the towels with their dirty hands
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to libel
to make untrue and harmful statements about
the politician maliciously blackened his opponent's reputation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of blacken
The Howe fire, the larger blaze, had blackened about 40 acres and was burning in steep terrain south of the unincorporated town of Piru in the area around the Santa Clara River.
—
Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2025
The chain featured pub grub including burgers, chicken wings, sushi, stone-crab chowder, salads, Philly cheesesteaks and blackened mahi mahi sandwiches, among other handhelds.
—Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 10 June 2025
Aerial views from Google maps show blackened, burned ruins stretching a quarter-mile.
—Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 9 June 2025
As the desert light dissolved and dissipated, turning the sky the colour of warmed honey before blackening entirely, a nearby minaret announced the maghrib prayer.
—James Montague, New York Times, 18 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for blacken
Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2025
The chain featured pub grub including burgers, chicken wings, sushi, stone-crab chowder, salads, Philly cheesesteaks and blackened mahi mahi sandwiches, among other handhelds.
—Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 10 June 2025
Aerial views from Google maps show blackened, burned ruins stretching a quarter-mile.
—Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 9 June 2025
As the desert light dissolved and dissipated, turning the sky the colour of warmed honey before blackening entirely, a nearby minaret announced the maghrib prayer.
—James Montague, New York Times, 18 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for blacken
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blacken
Verb
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But with Victoria’s Secret, Super inherited a beleaguered brand stained by upheaval and scandal.—
Alicia Adamczyk,
Fortune,
28 June 2025
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Authorities believed the killer or killers caused the catastrophic head injuries by swinging a frozen tree limb that was found nearby and stained with blood.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
26 June 2025
Verb
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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
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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
Verb
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Scientists had expected that radiation from the magnetic field of Uranus would darken the trailing hemispheres of its moons, but an analysis of the surfaces of Uranus’ four major moons — Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon — found the opposite.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2025
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While the Village itself skirted much physical damage, its storefronts have stood empty for weeks upon weeks, their windows darkened.—
Kate Nishimura,
Sourcing Journal,
29 May 2025
Verb
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And for nights when you can't be bothered to dirty a million dishes just to get dinner on the table, there's an air fryer from Ninja.—
Sarah Felbin,
SELF,
23 May 2025
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Crème Brûlée Steve Granitz Crème brûlée is like butter blonde, but dirtied up a bit for a browned, warm tint.—
Audrey Noble,
Vogue,
2 May 2025
Verb
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In extreme cases, some parents will threaten to smear the therapist's name, leave bad reviews, complain to the licensing board, or even threaten the therapist’s physical safety.—
Sherri Gordon,
Parents,
23 June 2025
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The assertion by certain anonymous users online is a typically out-of-context and absurd effort to create fake news for clicks and to smear.—
Chloe Mayer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 June 2025
Verb
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Her work whispers, glimmers, and unsettles—not to obscure the past, but to seed something new from its soil.—
Lee Sharrock,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
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Norris says the location is an especially difficult terrain to conduct a search in because the trees and shrubbery can obscure the view of where bullets are coming from.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
30 June 2025
Verb
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Their reputations were besmirched.—
The Editors,
National Review,
17 Dec. 2024
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Images illustrating the reality versus carefully edited Instagram selfies have somewhat besmirched Santorini’s romantic reputation of late.—
Helen Iatrou,
AFAR Media,
16 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Miller sought to shield these women, her suit said, and as a result she was humiliated, harassed and ultimately forced out of her job by Spitzer and Nelson.—
Teri Sforza,
Oc Register,
20 June 2025
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As Howard begins to humiliate Matt, the camera follows all angles of the table, making sure to showcase everyone’s reactions.—
Leia Mendoza,
Variety,
17 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Blacken.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blacken. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
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