blacken

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈblækən/ UK /ˈblækən/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like bracken /l/ vs /r/

Meanings

1

verb
to make or become black or dark; to defame

Smoke from the fire began to blacken the kitchen ceiling.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to make or become black or... darken defame slander besmirch sully tarnish vilify

Opposites

whiten brighten praise exonerate

Word family

Derived forms blackenerblackening

Related forms black

Etymology

From black (Old English blæc) + the verb-forming suffix -en ('to make').

blæc Old English -en Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# blacken

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈblækən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈblækən/

## Meanings
1. to make or become black or dark; to defame

## Examples
- Smoke from the fire began to blacken the kitchen ceiling.

## Synonyms
- darken
- defame
- slander
- besmirch
- sully
- tarnish
- vilify

## Antonyms
- whiten
- brighten
- praise
- exonerate

## Derived Forms
- blackener
- blackening

## Related Forms
- black

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: blæc
- Root: -en

## Etymology
From black (Old English blæc) + the verb-forming suffix -en ('to make').

## AI Etymology
Blacken is from black (Old English blæc) + the verb-forming suffix -en ('to make'). Important recorded forms include blæc (Old English) and -en (Old English). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers to make or become black or dark; to defame. The wider family includes derived forms such as blackener and blackening and related words such as black.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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