darkness

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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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

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 darkness This time the moon will be a waning gibbous (86% sunlit), so stars belonging to the Pleiades cluster will disappear behind its bright limb and reappear behind the thin crescent of darkness on the moon's trailing side. Joe Rao, Space.com, 8 Oct. 2025 Lina gazes past the snow, into the darkness under the trees. Hazlitt, 8 Oct. 2025 It is triggered by darkness at night. Ayesha Gulzar, Verywell Health, 8 Oct. 2025 This NiceTown design features a grommet top and promises the sort of pitch-black darkness expected from a product with the word Halloween in its title. Shoko Wanger, Architectural Digest, 6 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for darkness
Recent Examples of Synonyms for darkness
Noun
  • For those ready to answer the call of the living dark, the underground world waits, patient, mysterious, and transformative as ever.
    Heide Brandes, AFAR Media, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Head to Amazon for more ways to keep your outdoor spaces shining, and read on for more of our favorite lights to brighten driveways and walkways after dark.
    Toni Sutton, PEOPLE, 11 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • In a better world, novels of this level of sophistication, beauty, erudition, ambiguity, and play would come along more frequently and dominate the literary discourse.
    Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2025
  • Any unexplained death leaves room for competing narratives, but Scott’s death involved a particularly vexing set of ambiguities.
    The New Yorker, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Showing confidence the whole night that the outcome wouldn’t really be in doubt, BSU went for it seven times on fourth down, converting six of those.
    Jim Keyser, Idaho Statesman, 12 Oct. 2025
  • Two weeks after an upset loss to visiting Cal Poly and a week after having a off-night bye to think about a season that could go either way, Sacramento State delivered a resounding 55-27 victory over Weber State on Saturday night in chilly Ogden, Utah.
    Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 12 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Early morning fog will burn off shortly after sunrise and low-level foggy clouds will clear out by late morning.
    Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer, 13 Oct. 2025
  • The monsoon is characterized by intense heat, surges of moisture and atmospheric instability, creating clouds and storm chances in the afternoon.
    Hayleigh Evans, AZCentral.com, 13 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Wyeth hadn’t gotten the exposure right, and greasy shadows overwhelmed almost all the fine detail in the boy’s image.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2025
  • So watch the video carefully and try to catch the signs of unnatural eye movements, lip-sync issues, weird lighting, shadows and voice inconsistencies.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The shootings cast a pall on what is normally a jubilant season in the Mississippi countryside, as stifling heat gives way to cooler autumn days and former residents return to reconnect with the community of their youth.
    Aishvarya Kavi, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
  • The result is not just uncertainty for viewers, TV executives and show staffs, but a pall over an advertising category that's long been a staple of live TV.
    Lillian Rizzo, CNBC, 1 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Just imagine it—you’d abruptly awaken in the darkness, a blackness that’s so all-consuming that your eyes could never adjust beneath the earth’s chill frost line.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Passengers experience a few minutes of weightlessness and get to see Earth against the blackness of space.
    Mike Wall, Space.com, 8 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • That intrigue and mysteriousness still rest in the canyon walls today.
    Madison Dapcevich, Outside, 13 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Darkness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/darkness. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.

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