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

In perhaps the coolest reversal in the show thus far, the Lanterns are attacked with guns that produce darkness, which manifests here as smoke but prevents them from seeing or creating light constructs. — Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 7 Sep. 2026

David Elliott stood on his front porch in sweatpants in the pre-dawn darkness in rural Northeastern Connecticut, waiting for his golden retriever to come inside for breakfast. — Julia Levine, Hartford Courant, 7 Sep. 2026

There’s a lot of damage and grief and darkness inside that person. — Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2026

Crews searched into the evening Sunday before suspending the effort because of darkness. — Cecilio Padilla, CBS News, 7 Sep. 2026