darkening 1 of 2

adjective

as in dark
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer a darkening sky that seemed to match our downcast spirits

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darkening

2 of 2

verb

present participle of darken
1
as in frowning
to take on a gloomy or forbidding look his face slowly darkened as we told him the sad news

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in fading
to grow dark the sky darkened as a storm moved in

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3
as in obscuring
to make dark, dim, or indistinct years of accumulated grime have darkened the painting until it can barely be seen

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4
as in marring
to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable the scandal darkened his otherwise sterling reputation

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 darkening
Verb
The neutral palette feels a little more friendly and relaxed rather than dark and serious, which adds a certain brightness back into the rapidly darkening days. — Bianca Kratky, Glamour, 8 Oct. 2026 But at a festive National Day meal in Riyadh, where families dined while patriotic songs filled the room, there was a growing sense that the public mood may be darkening. — Matthew Chance, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2026 The title references Black Like Me, white journalist John Howard Griffin’s 1961 nonfiction book about darkening his skin to pass for Black in the Jim Crow South. — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2026 During a total eclipse, the moon completely covers the face of the sun, darkening the sky and revealing just the sun’s outer atmosphere called the corona. — Devika Rao, TheWeek, 12 Aug. 2026 Instead of darkening the sky and unveiling the sun's signature circular ring, this time around the moon will only partly cover the sun, giving it a crescent shape, according to NASA. — Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2026 In locations where the eclipse will occur around sunset, people may see Perseid meteors during totality, the minutes when the moon fully blocks the sun’s light, leaving a fiery ring and temporarily darkening the skies. — Denise Chow, NBC news, 11 Aug. 2026 Severe weather cut power Tuesday in the Chicago area and northwestern Indiana as perilous storms pummeled the region, darkening the sky and carrying extreme wind gusts across state lines. — ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026 The summer sounds of 1966 offered a distraction from darkening clouds of social and political upheaval. — Michael Peregrine, Chicago Tribune, 1 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for darkening
  1. dark
  2. frowning
  3. fading
  4. obscuring
  5. marring
  6. bleak
  7. staring
  8. blackening
Adjective
  • There’s nothing about the white bedding, dark-wood furniture, and tan carpeting that will knock your socks off—but nothing that will make your toes curl, either.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Guadagnino and screenwriter Simon Rich mold the material from dark humor through technocratic giddiness to sobering horror.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of dark
Verb
  • Looking on was Trooper Major, body camera footage shows, frowning in the sun as the deputies followed guidance from a portable defibrillator device.
    — Brittany Wallman, Miami Herald, 11 Sep. 2026
  • This focuses readers on the all-black uniforms of the veiled pupils, who—in a long frame at the center of the page—sit between the looming, frowning teacher on the right and Marji on the left, who stands up to explain that her uncle was executed by the Islamic regime.
    — Hillary Chute, The Atlantic, 9 June 2026
Definition of frowning
Verb
  • New England beat Buffalo so the public isn't exactly fading the Patriots, but this still feels like a bit of a trap line to me.
    — Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Efforts are underway to rekindle this fading heritage before their skills are lost.
    — Kelly Kasulis Cho, Christian Science Monitor, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of fading
Verb
  • Just such an October weather pattern occurred 61 years ago, obscuring predawn views of the spectacular Comet Ikeya-Seki for most observers east of the Mississippi — an ironic fate for the most brilliant comet of the 20th century.
    — Joe Rao, Space.com, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Today’s problem is hyperscalers spending themselves into oblivion, spreading inflation well beyond Silicon Valley and obscuring problems nearly everywhere else.
    — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of obscuring
Verb
  • The Trib is withholding Nick’s full name to avoid marring his reputation in the eyes of future employers or others who might run a search on him.
    — Kate Payne, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The latter track takes overt inspiration from Sofia Coppola’s 2006 film Marie Antoinette, as Jepsen beckons her love to engage in life’s vices with her, like marring bedsheets with fruit stains and dashing nude through the garden.
    — Jaeden Pinder, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of marring
Adjective
  • Things looked bleak for Keller, but the Indians kept fighting.
    — Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Oct. 2026
  • In the exceedingly bleak ending to the book, Bela realizes that the demon has killed and styled itself after her Grandma Ruth, who lures Russell and Ursula to their death.
    — William Earl, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of bleak
Verb
  • Instead of everybody facing one direction staring at the DJ, Savage wants the environment to be about the ambiance, the music, and the people in the space, not just who’s playing.
    — Candace Hansen, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The black-and-white illustration showed a mother kneeling on the frothing waves’ surface, staring into the face of her naked infant as the Virgin Mary towered above them both, attended by angels circling her head.
    — Ellen O’Connell Whittet, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of staring
Verb
  • 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
Definition of blackening

Browse Nearby Words

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darkening
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Cite this Entry

“Darkening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/darkening. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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