(~er, ~est)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
When it is ~, there is not enough light to see properly, for example because it is night.
It was too ~ inside to see much...
People usually draw the curtains once it gets ~...
She snapped off the light and made her way back through the ~ kitchen.
? light
ADJ
~ness
The light went out, and the room was plunged into ~ness.
N-UNCOUNT
~ly
...a ~ly lit, seedy dance hall.
ADV: ADV -ed
2.
The ~ is the lack of light in a place.
I’ve always been afraid of the ~.
= ~ness
? light
N-SING: the N
3.
If you describe something as ~, you mean that it is black in colour, or a shade that is close to black.
He wore a ~ suit and carried a black attache case...
? light
ADJ
~ly
Joanne’s freckles stood out ~ly against her pale skin...
ADV: ADV after v, ADV adj/-ed
4.
When you use ~ to describe a colour, you are referring to a shade of that colour which is close to black, or seems to have some black in it.
She was wearing a ~ blue dress.
? light
COMB in COLOUR
5.
If someone has ~ hair, eyes, or skin, they have brown or black hair, eyes, or skin.
He had ~, curly hair...
ADJ
6.
If you describe a white person as ~, you mean that they have brown or black hair, and often a brownish skin.
Carol is a tall, ~, Latin type of woman...
? fair
ADJ
7.
A ~ period of time is unpleasant or frightening.
This was the ~est period of the war.
= black
ADJ: usu ADJ n
8.
A ~ place or area is mysterious and not fully known about.
...the ~ recesses of the mind.
ADJ: ADJ n
9.
Dark thoughts are sad, and show that you are expecting something unpleasant to happen. (LITERARY)
Troy’s chatter kept me from thinking ~ thoughts.
= gloomy
ADJ: usu ADJ n
10.
Dark looks or remarks make you think that the person giving them wants to harm you or that something horrible is going to happen. (LITERARY)
...~ threats.
= sinister
ADJ: usu ADJ n
~ly
‘Something’s wrong here,’ she said ~ly...
ADV: ADV with v
11.
If you describe something as ~, you mean that it is related to things that are serious or unpleasant, rather than light-hearted.
Their ~ humor never failed to astound him...
ADJ: usu ADJ n
~ly
The atmosphere after Wednesday’s debut was as ~ly comic as the film itself...
ADV: ADV adj
12.
see also pitch-~
13.
If you do something after ~, you do it when the sun has set and night has begun.
They avoid going out alone after ~.
PHRASE
14.
If you do something before ~, you do it before the sun sets and night begins.
They’ll be back well before ~.
PHRASE
15.
If you are in the ~ about something, you do not know anything about it.
The investigators admit that they are completely in the ~ about the killing...
PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v, oft PHR about n
16.
If you describe something someone says or does as a shot in the ~ or a stab in the ~, you mean they are guessing that what they say is correct or that what they do will be successful.
Every single one of those inspired guesses had been shots in the ~.
PHRASE: shot inflects