adj. 1 unlit, unlighted, unilluminated, ill-lighted, ill-lit, sunless; black, Stygian, pitch-dark, inky, jet-black We cowered in a recess in the dark cave 2 dim, murky, tenebrous, shady, shadowy I could scarcely see ahead of me in the dark forest 3 gloomy, dismal, dreary, dull, drab, subfuscous, subfusc, bleak, cheerless, mournful, dour, pessimistic, sombre, doleful, joyless, grim, sad, melancholy, sorrowful Why do you always look at the dark side of things? 4 evil, wicked, vile, base, foul, iniquitous, nefarious, black-hearted, villainous, sinister, satanic, devilish, hellish Nostradamus predicted that dark forces would overrun the world 5 murky, overcast, cloudy, threatening, black, dusky, louring or lowering; foggy, misty; US glowering Another dark day on the moor and I thought I'd go mad 6 mysterious, deep, profound, incomprehensible, enigmatic, puzzling, impenetrable, unfathomable, abstruse, recondite, arcane, obscure She took her dark secret to the grave 7 hidden, concealed, secret, occult, mystic(al), cryptic The true reason for his leaving was always kept dark in the family 8 brunette; black, swarthy, brown; (sun)tanned, Old-fashioned swart One is fair with dark hair, the other has dark skin 9 ignorant, unenlightened, benighted Our culture passed through a dark phase before the Renaissance
n. 10 night, night-time, nightfall We waited till dark to make good our escape 11 darkness, blackness, gloom, gloominess, murk, murkiness At fifty, isn't he a bit old to be afraid of the dark? 12 obscurity, ignorance: She was always kept in the dark about his true identity