bə̇, bē+ transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: be- + night, n.
1. : to overtake by darkness or night especially before the end of a journey — usually used in the passive
there was no fear of our being benighted, for in Norway at this season it never gets dark — Frances Pitt
2. : to envelop in intellectual, moral, or social darkness
what men … call religion now benighting half the earth — John Wilson †1854
— usually used in the passive
3. : to make dark especially by depriving of light : obscure
the cliffs were so high that the bay itself was already benighted — Clemence Dane