1
as in darkened
being without light or without much light
a dim, windowless room in the basement of the house
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dulled
lacking a surface luster or gloss
over time, exposure to ultraviolet light will make bright pigments turn dim
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3
as in vague
not seen or understood clearly
have only a dim knowledge of the subject
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4
as in slow
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily
our dog is kind of dim, but very sweet-natured
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as in to obscure
to make dark, dim, or indistinct
the storm clouds dimmed our view of the city from the airplane
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dim
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2026
Astronomers believe that this nebula is filled with dim stellar bodies called brown dwarfs.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 6 Mar. 2026
Chantel Jennings, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026
Others honored by the dimming are Broadway and West End director Frank Dunlop, Beauty and the Beast and Wicked actor Bret Hanna-Shuford and longtime theater journalist Harry Haun.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 4 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dim
Adjective
Our bodies go about their business, but our deeper selves flutter, like those blind moths, into that dim waiting room and linger until some inscrutable opening is granted us to start living again.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2026
Astronomers believe that this nebula is filled with dim stellar bodies called brown dwarfs.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 6 Mar. 2026
Verb
Tennessee will make the NCAA Tournament — five Quad 1 wins and a NET ranking of 21 overcome the fact that the Lady Vols have collected only 16 total victories this season — but any hopes of flipping the switch and making a long March run are dimming with every passing day.
—Chantel Jennings, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026
Others honored by the dimming are Broadway and West End director Frank Dunlop, Beauty and the Beast and Wicked actor Bret Hanna-Shuford and longtime theater journalist Harry Haun.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 4 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dim
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dim
Adjective
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As scientists often find darkened teeth in ancient burials, other factors can contribute to a black appearance, notably the chewing of betel leaves.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Feb. 2026
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Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui posted a video to X over the weekend, showing a dazzling view of auroras spreading like a tall blanket over the darkened Earth below.—
Josh Dinner,
Space.com,
15 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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But the notice sent last spring was so vague and confusing that few people used it to object.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Mar. 2026
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At the time, viewers had vague familiarity with these six faces, like Courteney Cox from Family Ties or Lisa Kudrow from Mad About You.—
Angie Martoccio,
Rolling Stone,
7 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Experiencing that life cycle of knowing where my food comes from and watching my uncles do the butchering and then eating it the same day through slow roasting was really impactful for me as a kid.—
Claire Salinda,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Mar. 2026
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Perhaps both movements could have animated each other; perhaps the subsequent fight for women’s suffrage would have been less sporadic and slow.—
Moira Donegan,
New Yorker,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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All three major indexes had spent time Tuesday solidly higher and lower, so their closing levels obscure all that happened during the trading day.—
Natasha Abellard,
CNBC,
10 Mar. 2026
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Police recovered surveillance footage of the suspect, his face partially obscured by his hood, near the scene.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Police released an image captured from a surveillance video showing a person wearing dark clothes and a backpack, with their face covered.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
10 Mar. 2026
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But the late-Baroque facade of the building conceals a special, darker history, one that reflects persistent political and legal problems for the bank thousands of miles away, in the US.—
Hugo Miller,
Bloomberg,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The news went wild on Twitter, with people meme-ing the hell out of the exceedingly dull headline.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
12 Mar. 2026
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If your home is primarily filled with neutrals and feels a bit dull, try introducing a few colorful accents.—
Tessa Cooper,
Southern Living,
11 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Around 5000 light-years away, the faint nebula PMR 1 hides a star whose fate is not yet known.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
9 Mar. 2026
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Then his mouth stretches into a faint smile.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Telling the story this way elides, smooths over, and underestimates the role of circumstance and dumb luck.—
Charles Yu,
The Atlantic,
5 Mar. 2026
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Advertisement This strategy was tried in the dumb-bomb era.—
Richard Hall,
Time,
3 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dim.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dim. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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