1
as in darkened
being without light or without much light
a dim, windowless room in the basement of the house
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in vague
not seen or understood clearly
have only a dim knowledge of the subject
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in slow
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily
our dog is kind of dim, but very sweet-natured
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to obscure
to make dark, dim, or indistinct
the storm clouds dimmed our view of the city from the airplane
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 dim
Phil Plait, Scientific American, 29 May 2026
Director-writer Kane Parsons was inspired by the creepypasta image of a dim and fluorescently lit yellow room to craft this horror.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 29 May 2026
Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 3 June 2026
Moon angles her chin and the light dims in her eyes.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for dim
Adjective
But extremely long-exposure images reveal that Malin 1’s spiral arms include very dim and intricate extensions that span a staggering 650,000 light-years, making this galaxy approximately six times wider than the Milky Way!
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 29 May 2026
Director-writer Kane Parsons was inspired by the creepypasta image of a dim and fluorescently lit yellow room to craft this horror.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 29 May 2026
Verb
Hisense 75-Inch Smart TV The Hisense 75-inch U7 brings ultimate luxury to your living room by pairing Hi-QLED color accuracy with up to 3,000 local dimming zones and 3,000 nits peak brightness.
—Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 3 June 2026
Moon angles her chin and the light dims in her eyes.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for dim
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dim
Adjective
-
She’s talked up her push to convert darkened streetlights, many of them stripped of their copper wire, to solar power.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
-
In the darkened foyer, Ember contemplated this unassuming bit of paper, momentarily paralyzed by a mixture of dread and excitement stirred together, an overpowering sensation that oozed from the crown of her head, down the length of her body, then hardened, like a soft golden resin becoming solid.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
And that would be a very dull experience.—
Alex Zalben,
IndieWire,
3 June 2026
-
And red decorations in urban bowers were more vivid, and the green items duller, than in rural bowers.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
Shared progress grows when comfort leads the way and one warm connection turns a vague hope into movement.—
Tarot.com,
The Orlando Sentinel,
6 June 2026
-
Workers thought the vague language of the law could be enforced, but employers thought otherwise.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
6 June 2026
Adjective
-
Recovery of the bodies has been slow because of the chemicals and other hazards present at the site, Amos explained.—
Adam England,
PEOPLE,
29 May 2026
-
One of the most painful things about this disease is knowing that promising treatments are emerging, but funding barriers and manufacturing and procedural slow-downs continue to derail progress.—
Elise Esposito,
Boston Herald,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
The Islamic Republic of Iran has accelerated its executions of dissidents and activists, with the true number of victims likely obscured by the regime’s internet censorship and blackout.—
Beth Bailey,
FOXNews.com,
9 June 2026
-
The old model obscured the relationship between advertiser and editorial.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
9 June 2026
Adjective
-
Its dark terrain is constantly changing due to lava flows from Kilauea or Mauna Loa – two of the most active volcanoes in the world, according to the National Park Service website.—
Alia Beard Rau,
USA Today,
10 June 2026
-
Some find the last scene ambiguous, multivalent; some dark; others comic.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2026
Adjective
-
Its 85-inch QLED display features a highly matte anti-glare screen, so your art and movies look lifelike without annoying reflections.—
Juhi Wadia,
PC Magazine,
11 Mar. 2026
-
The long-wearing formula sets to a semi-matte finish that resists oil and humidity, too.—
Christa Joanna Lee,
Allure,
26 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
If the aurora is faint, a smartphone camera can often reveal colors and structures that are difficult to see with the naked eye, during weaker displays.—
Daisy Dobrijevic,
Space.com,
8 June 2026
-
All there is to Lyra is Vega and a small parallelogram of fainter stars to the lower right.—
Mike Lynch,
Twin Cities,
7 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dim.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dim. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
