pitch-black

adjective

ˈpich-ˈblak How to pronounce pitch-black (audio)
Definition of pitch-blacknext
1
as in darkened
being without light or without much light finding anything in a pitch-black room is almost impossible

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in black
having the color of soot or coal a pitch-black cat with green eyes

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 pitch-black DaCosta reteams with Sean Bobbitt, who shot both Hedda and The Marvels, for a pitch-black descent into hell that holds up, despite its January release, as one of the very best horror films of the year. — Gerrad Hall, Entertainment Weekly, 6 July 2026 This Cannes Directors’ Fortnight prizewinner sets out its pitch-black-comic stall early with a prologue in which, after a brief contretemps, local man Raoul Brun (Jean-Louis Coulloc’h) blows his supercilious neighbor’s head off with a shotgun and then disappears. — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 16 June 2026 In pitch-black tunnels in a remote mine in central Laos, rescuers are risking their lives to save seven miners who have been trapped for a week. — Matt Gutman, CBS News, 27 May 2026 Some areas of the pitch-black and partially flooded tunnel appear very narrow, with a width of roughly 23 inches. — Kocha Olarn, CNN Money, 27 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for pitch-black
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pitch-black
  1. darkened
  2. black
  3. dark
  4. pitch-dark
  5. murky
Adjective
  • This trend has been pretty pervasive among designer bags recently, with shoppers buying new Prada and Chanel bags with darkened leather to give them a used look, or sourcing vintage Celine bags with obvious signs of wear.
    — Irene Richardson, InStyle, 2 July 2026
  • 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
Definition of darkened
Adjective
  • This month biologists at the University of Vermont reported in Nature that the black melanoma is contagious, the tumor cells themselves passing from one fish to the next.
    — John Drake, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
  • Contemporary playgrounds and schoolyards are often designed with minimal shade and artificial materials, like black rubber, concrete and aluminum, that can reach dangerously high surface temperatures when sun-exposed.
    — The Conversation, Fortune, 27 July 2026
Definition of black
Adjective
  • Protesters covered events in real time, filming Instagram reels, sharing videos and memes – often laced with dark humor and jibes at Modi – and posting updates from the protest site.
    — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 28 July 2026
  • The path of totality — the moon’s dark shadow — will cross eastern Greenland, western Iceland and northern Spain, from where the sun’s corona will become visible, if skies are clear, for up to 2 minutes 18 seconds.
    — Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
Definition of dark
Adjective
  • The music is quiet but powerful, blending pitch-dark tones and sunny melodies in ways that can recall Elliott Smith, Joanna Newsom, and Animal Collective, among other left-field heroes.
    — Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 17 July 2026
  • The 21st century has yielded no shortage of stylish horror marbled with devious veins of pitch-dark humor — Peter Strickland’s In Fabric, Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook, Halina Reijn’s Bodies Bodies Bodies, Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell, pretty much every Jordan Peele feature.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2026
Definition of pitch-dark
Adjective
  • Although firms aren’t supposed to be connected to an insurer or provider, those relationships can be murky.
    — Lisa Jarvis, Mercury News, 1 Aug. 2026
  • The deal also gives Asteria access to ZeroGen, ZeroSpace’s generative AI platform that aims to let studios generate content within legal guidelines, helping enterprise customers avoid the legally murky areas of copyright issues.
    — Corbin Bolies, Variety, 31 July 2026
Definition of murky

Browse Nearby Words

pitch
pitch-black
pitch-dark
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Cite this Entry

“Pitch-black.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pitch-black. Accessed 4 Aug. 2026.

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