ˈblakən verb
( blackened ; blackened ; blackening -k(ə)niŋ ; blackens )
Etymology: Middle English blaknen, from blak black + -enen -en — more at black
intransitive verb
1. : to become black
2. of paper : to become darker in color than intended because of improper calendering
transitive verb
1. : to make black
the house burned down, leaving only a blackened chimney
mosquitoes capable of blackening a man with their bodies within a minute — E.T.Gilliard
the shadow of the possibility of famine blackened everybody's life — G.E.Fussell
2. : to speak evil of
blacken the past rather than to report it faithfully — Ernest Beaglehole
: make infamous
he blackens opponents by giving them … names such as Barbarian and Philistine — Times Literary Supplement
3. : black III 3a, 3b, 3d