darken

C2+ Topic:Cause, Change & Process

US /ˈdɑɹkən/ UK /ˈdɑːkən/ See IPA manual

verb

Meanings

1

verb
to make or become dark or gloomy

Storm clouds began to darken the horizon.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to make or become dark or... dim shadow obscure cloud blacken gloom

Opposites

lighten brighten illuminate clear

Word family

Derived forms darkeneddarkening

Related forms dark darkness darksome

Common collocations

darken the sky Verb + noun

Etymology

From English 'dark' + the causative/inchoative verb suffix -en; 'dark' is from Old English deorc ('dark, obscure'), of Germanic origin.

deorc Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Cause, Change & Process Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

# darken

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

## Meanings
1. to make or become dark or gloomy

## Examples
- Storm clouds began to darken the horizon.

## Synonyms
- dim
- shadow
- obscure
- cloud
- blacken
- gloom

## Antonyms
- lighten
- brighten
- illuminate
- clear

## Derived Forms
- darkened
- darkening

## Related Forms
- dark
- darkness
- darksome

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: deorc
- Affix: -en - to make

## Etymology
From English 'dark' + the causative/inchoative verb suffix -en; 'dark' is from Old English deorc ('dark, obscure'), of Germanic origin.

## AI Etymology
Darken is from English 'dark' + the causative/inchoative verb suffix -en; 'dark' is from Old English deorc ('dark, obscure'), of Germanic origin. In present-day use, it means to make or become dark or gloomy. Derived formations include darkened and darkening. Related vocabulary includes dark, darkness, and darksome.

## Topics
- Cause, Change & Process
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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