dim

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   made dim or less bright

   the dimmed houselights brought a hush of anticipation

2. 2
   adj

   lacking clarity or distinctness

   a dim figure in the distance

3. 3
   verb

   make dim or lusterless

   Time had dimmed the silver

4. 4
   verb

   become dim or lusterless

   the lights dimmed and the curtain rose

5. 5
   adj

   Not bright or colorful.

   The lighting was too dim for me to make out his facial features.

6. 6
   adj

   Not smart or intelligent.

   He may be a bit dim, but he's not entirely stupid.

7. 7
   adj

   Indistinct, hazy or unclear.

   His vision grew dimmer as he aged.

8. 8
   noun

   Dimness.

   All about me the Red Weed clambered among the ruins, writhing to get above me in the dim. Night, the Mother of Fear and Mystery, was coming upon me.

Etymology

From Middle English dim, dym, from Old English dim, dimm (“dim, dark, gloomy; wretched, grievous, sad, unhappy”), from Proto-West Germanic *dimm, from Proto-Germanic *dimmaz (“dark”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰem- (“to whisk, smoke; obscure”). Compare Faroese dimmur (“dark”), Icelandic dimmur (“dark”) and dimma (“darkness”).