Synonyms of darkness

darkness

noun

ˈdärk-nəs 

1

as in dark

a time or place of little or no light

the raiding party snuck up under cover of darkness

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dark
• shadows
• blackness
• night
• dusk
• black
• twilight
• gloom
• midnight
• candlelight
• semidarkness
• murk
• shade
• gloaming
• umbra
• dullness
• blackout
• dimness
• murkiness
• somberness
• grayness
• gloominess
• haziness
• cloudiness
• faintness
• paleness
• half-light
• umbrage
• brownout
• mistiness
• shadiness
• fogginess
• dimout

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• light
• brightness
• glow
• daylight
• day
• glare
• brilliance
• lightness
• sunlight
• blaze
• moonlight
• starlight
• sunshine
• radiance
• shine
• luminescence
• luminosity
• effulgence
• luminance
• radiancy
• incandescence
• luminousness

2

as in ambiguity

the quality or state of having a veiled or uncertain meaning

the darkness of certain passages in the Book of Revelation

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ambiguity
• ambiguousness
• mysteriousness
• mystery
• uncertainty
• murkiness
• opaqueness
• obscurity
• opacity
• nebulousness
• nebulosity
• obliquity
• complexity
• obliqueness
• inscrutability
• equivocation
• dimness
• equivocalness
• depth
• vagueness
• mistiness
• haziness
• inscrutableness
• cloudiness
• indistinctness
• indefiniteness
• faintness
• fuzziness
• fogginess
• incomprehensibility
• impenetrability
• shadow
• shade
• difficulty
• profoundness
• circuity
• deepness
• reconditeness
• obtuseness
• indirectness
• abstruseness
• incomprehensibleness
• complication
• circuitousness
• abstrusity

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• brightness
• clarity
• clearness
• obviousness
• plainness
• certainty
• legibility
• intelligibility
• distinctness
• comprehensibility
• surety
• incision
• lucidity
• openness
• exactness
• visibility
• definiteness
• directness
• perspicuity
• incisiveness
• explicitness
• straightforwardness
• forthrightness
• readability
• self-evidence
• tangibility
• lucidness
• obviousness
• perspicuousness
• palpability
• tangibleness
• readableness

3

as in night

the time from sunset to sunrise when there is no visible sunlight

let's wait for darkness before telling ghost stories

Synonyms & Similar Words

• night
• dark
• nighttime
• midnight
• dusk
• nightfall
• twilight
• evening
• gloaming

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• day
• daytime
• dawn
• sunrise
• daybreak
• morning
• forenoon
• noon
• midday
• sunup
• afternoon
• noonday
• noontide
• noontime
• high noon

4

as in cloud

an overspreading element that produces an atmosphere of gloom

the darkness of that period of my life is best forgotten

Synonyms & Similar Words

• cloud
• pall
• fog
• shadow
• veil
• haze
• shroud
• mist
• mantle
• night
• midnight
• murk
• penumbra
• umbra

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of darkness

Remember the Baltimore Colts’ move to Indianapolis under the cover of darkness? — Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2026

The Grubman scandal, especially, serves as a harbinger of darkness to come. — Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2026

In Tarragona, an ancient Roman port city layered with two thousand years of history on the Mediterranean coast, thousands gathered along the waterfront to wait through a punishing late-summer heatwave for just over a minute of darkness. — Annissa Durar, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Aug. 2026

As darkness settled over Loch Raven, both beavers swam out of sight. — Carl R. Gold, Baltimore Sun, 14 Aug. 2026