INDEX:
1. dark and with little or no light
2. to become dark
3. darkness
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ LIGHT
dark colour : ↑ COLOUR
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1. dark and with little or no light
▷ dark /dɑːʳk/ [adjective]
if a place is dark, there is little or no light :
▪ Thick curtains covered the windows and the room was very dark.
▪ I shrank back into the darkest corner of the room, and prayed that the soldiers would not see me.
▪ No, you can’t play outside, it’s too dark.
▪ It was a dark night and he was afraid they might get lost if they went across the fields.
▪ Anyone who disobeyed him ran the risk of getting beaten up in a dark alley, or even killed.
▷ pitch dark/pitch black /ˌpɪtʃ ˈdɑːʳk◂, ˌpɪtʃ ˈblæk◂/ [adjective not usually before noun]
completely dark, so that nothing can be seen :
▪ It’s pitch dark in there. I can’t see a thing.
▪ Inside the cellar it was pitch black.
▷ gloomy /ˈgluːmi/ [adjective]
a gloomy place or room is not at all bright or cheerful - use this especially in stories or written descriptions :
▪ The bar was gloomy and smelled of stale cigar smoke.
▪ I never liked visiting Dr Allen in his gloomy old study.
▷ dingy /ˈdɪndʒi/ [adjective]
a room, street, or place that is dingy is fairly dark and usually dirty and in bad condition :
▪ He ate lunch in a dingy little cafe next to the station.
▪ The room was damp and dingy.
▷ darkened /ˈdɑːʳkənd/ [adjective only before noun]
a darkened room or building is darker than usual, especially because its lights have been turned off or there are no lights :
▪ The prisoner lay in a darkened room.
▪ The production opens with a darkened stage, and the sound of a woman singing softly.
▷ dimly-lit /ˌdɪmli ˈlɪt◂/ [adjective]
an area or building that is dimly- lit is fairly dark because the lights there are not very bright :
▪ a long, dimly-lit corridor
▪ Madame Gloriana led the way into a dimly lit back room.
▷ unlit /ˌʌnˈlɪt◂/ [adjective]
an area, building, or room that is unlit is dark because there are no lights on there :
▪ The path was unlit, and she needed a torch to find her way.
▪ Behind the gasoline pumps the unlit garage stood like a huge black shadow.
2. to become dark
▷ it gets dark /ɪt ˌgets ˈdɑːʳk/
when it gets dark, the sky becomes dark, usually because it is night :
▪ It was getting dark, and we were worried that we wouldn’t make it back to the village before nightfall.
▪ When we were camping we used to go to sleep as soon as it got dark.
▪ It’s getting very dark out there -- there’s going to be a storm.
▷ the light fades /ðə ˌlaɪt ˈfeɪdz/
if natural light fades, it gradually becomes weaker, because night is coming :
▪ The light slowly began to fade and the trees became mere shadows.
▪ I want to take some photographs before the light fades.
▷ darken /ˈdɑːʳkən/ [intransitive verb]
if the sky darkens, it gradually becomes darker than before, often because of bad weather :
▪ In a few minutes the sky darkened and heavy rain began to fall.
▪ We walked along the shore as the sun’s last rays winked over the darkening sea, then headed for home.
▷ fall /fɔːl/ [intransitive verb]
night/evening/darkness falls
use this especially in stories to say that the night begins and it becomes dark :
▪ We got back home just as night was falling.
▪ Darkness fell on the town and the streetlights came on one by one.
▷ be plunged into darkness /biː ˌplʌndʒd ɪntə ˈdɑːʳknə̇s/ [verb phrase]
if a room, building etc is plunged into darkness it is suddenly made dark because all the lights have been turned off :
▪ Suddenly the light went out and the narrow stairs were plunged into darkness.
▪ Lightning struck the power lines, plunging half the city into darkness.
3. darkness
▷ darkness /ˈdɑːʳknɪs, ˈdɑːʳknəs/ [uncountable noun]
a place or time where there is no light :
▪ A voice came from out of the darkness, but she couldn’t see anyone.
▪ As my eyes became used to the darkness I could make out a bed in the corner of the room.
▪ The city was a violent place at that time, and it was not safe to walk the streets during the hours of darkness.
in complete darkness
▪ Colour films must be developed in complete darkness.
▷ the dark /ðə ˈdɑːʳk/ [singular noun]
when there is no light, especially in a room :
▪ Children who are afraid of the dark need to be reassured.
in the dark
▪ Why are you sitting there in the dark? Put the light on.
▷ the shadows /ðə ˈʃædəʊz/ [plural noun]
the place near a building, trees etc where it is darker than everywhere else because it is hidden from the sun’s light :
▪ Someone was hiding in the shadows at the end of the garden.
▪ Two figures moved out of the shadows into the moonlit street.
▷ the half-light /ðə ˈhɑːf laɪtǁ-ˈhæf-/ [singular noun]
dull, grey light like the light of the early morning or early evening - use this especially in stories and written descriptions :
▪ He urged the mule forward through the half-light of the forest.
in the half-light
▪ It was difficult to see who was standing there in the dim half-light of the hall.
▷ the gloom /ðə ˈgluːm/ [singular noun]
when a place or room does not have enough light to see properly and is not at all cheerful - use this especially in stories and written descriptions :
▪ I stepped through the doorway and peered into the gloom.
▪ Jon could hear her voice but was unable to see anything in the gloom.