as in blackly
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Recent Examples of darkly
Over the course of the season, Tommy and his father slowly tighten their bond, a process punctuated with darkly comic lines that both puncture and reflect Thornton’s and Elliott’s undeniable chemistry and gravitas.
—
Michael M. Rosen, The Washington Examiner, 9 Jan. 2026
Known for his spare, unforgiving style and darkly comic fatalistic sensibility, along with his penchant for leather jackets, lots of smoking and a deadpan sense of humor, Tarr was a quintessential arthouse filmmaker.
—Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2026
The city’s storefront followers all saw the show as intense, non-linear, fanciful, Chicago-style experimentation with the de rigeur amount of nudity and a darkly comic soul, but no hope whatsoever of expanding its reach beyond the Midwest theatrical shoebox of its birth.
—Chris Jones, New York Daily News, 9 Jan. 2026
Glatzer’s upcoming eight-episode series, The Audacity, is a darkly comic drama about ambition in the tech bubble, centered on a rich cast of characters led by Duncan Park (Billy Magnussen)—an audacious data-mining CEO who will stop at nothing to amass profit and power.
—Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 7 Jan. 2026
Following in the footsteps of many an onscreen May-December romance (The Idea of You, Babygirl, Marty Supreme), Mysterious Skin’s Gregg Araki serves up a darkly sexy riff on the sub-genre.
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 6 Jan. 2026
In desperation, Yoo hatches a chilling yet darkly logical plan.
—Robert Lang, Deadline, 6 Jan. 2026
This is a practically perfect translation, capturing the books’ madness, eccentric humor, and darkly inventive imagination — and Harris, of course, nails it.
—Will Harris, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Jan. 2026
Susan Chardy, On Becoming A Guinea Fowl Susan Chardy gives On Becoming a Guinea Fowl its emotional spine, guiding us through Rungano Nyoni’s darkly surreal reckoning with family silence and collective denial.
—Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 30 Dec. 2025
Michael M. Rosen, The Washington Examiner, 9 Jan. 2026
Known for his spare, unforgiving style and darkly comic fatalistic sensibility, along with his penchant for leather jackets, lots of smoking and a deadpan sense of humor, Tarr was a quintessential arthouse filmmaker.
—Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2026
The city’s storefront followers all saw the show as intense, non-linear, fanciful, Chicago-style experimentation with the de rigeur amount of nudity and a darkly comic soul, but no hope whatsoever of expanding its reach beyond the Midwest theatrical shoebox of its birth.
—Chris Jones, New York Daily News, 9 Jan. 2026
Glatzer’s upcoming eight-episode series, The Audacity, is a darkly comic drama about ambition in the tech bubble, centered on a rich cast of characters led by Duncan Park (Billy Magnussen)—an audacious data-mining CEO who will stop at nothing to amass profit and power.
—Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 7 Jan. 2026
Following in the footsteps of many an onscreen May-December romance (The Idea of You, Babygirl, Marty Supreme), Mysterious Skin’s Gregg Araki serves up a darkly sexy riff on the sub-genre.
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 6 Jan. 2026
In desperation, Yoo hatches a chilling yet darkly logical plan.
—Robert Lang, Deadline, 6 Jan. 2026
This is a practically perfect translation, capturing the books’ madness, eccentric humor, and darkly inventive imagination — and Harris, of course, nails it.
—Will Harris, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Jan. 2026
Susan Chardy, On Becoming A Guinea Fowl Susan Chardy gives On Becoming a Guinea Fowl its emotional spine, guiding us through Rungano Nyoni’s darkly surreal reckoning with family silence and collective denial.
—Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 30 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for darkly
Adverb
-
What at first appears to be a run-of-the-mill trauma drama about a family dealing with the eldest child’s anorexia nervosa gradually evolves into something odder and more original, even blackly comic, in Ungrateful Beings.—
Leslie Felperin,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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In October, family, friends and community members somberly walked out of the courthouse, disappointed to learn the resentencing hearing for Rhoades would be delayed.—
Kayla Moeller,
CBS News,
20 Dec. 2025
-
Stafford heard the transmission clearly and nodded silently and somberly.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
11 Nov. 2025
Adverb
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Look pessimistically, and perhaps the inexperience is too much of a barrier.—
Jake Ciely,
New York Times,
20 Aug. 2025
Adverb
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Instead, Republican staffers sullenly reported to messaging meetings to talk about immigration.—
Michael Scherer,
The Atlantic,
7 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the conservative nonprofit American Action Forum, has watched glumly as Republicans have drifted away from their small-government traditions.—
David M. Drucker,
Twin Cities,
19 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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That can be forgiven thanks to the film’s evocative imagery and the emotional resonance of its central themes, distressingly familiar to anyone who has ever lost themselves in a relationship.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
10 Dec. 2025
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Reports of politically motivated violence are distressingly common – ranging from mass shootings, car-ramming attacks and assaults at demonstrations to assassination attempts, kidnappings and threats targeting mayors, governors, political activists and members of Congress.—
Justin Pickett,
The Conversation,
17 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
Biden polled miserably on the economy, too.—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
4 Nov. 2025
-
The jeers continued after the play itself failed miserably.—
Matt Schneidman,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
Adverb
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Then there is the steady stream of profiles on tech billionaires joylessly devoting themselves to maximizing their lifespan.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
3 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Darkly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/darkly. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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