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

Her desire to be viewed as a full person becomes the crux of the story being told, and Wanted doesn’t shy away from the darkness of those impulses nor the humanity of her desperation. — Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Nov. 2026

In This Article Christmas cacti require 12 hours of darkness for about eight weeks to form flower buds for holiday blooming. — Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Nov. 2026

In 2025 an international team of astronomers published a paper in the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia reporting a candidate for Planet Nine in the deep trans-Neptunian darkness. — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 6 Nov. 2026

Celebrants place rows of traditional clay oil lamps outside their homes to symbolize the victory of light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. — ABC News, 6 Nov. 2026