dim

B2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /dɪm/ See IPA manual

Freq #9947

Meanings

1

adj
Not bright; giving or having little light.

The room was too dim for me to read comfortably.
2

adj
Not clear; hard to see or remember.

I have only a dim memory of my early childhood.
3

verb
To make a light less bright, or to become less bright.

The lights dimmed and the film began.
4

adj
Not very intelligent.

He's a bit dim, but he means well.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · not bright; giving or... dingy dull

2 adj · not clear; hard to see or... faint hazy vague indistinct

More bland colourless dusk lackluster leaden muddy sad soberuncolorful

Opposites

bright colored multicolored

Word family

Forms dimmeddimmerdimmestdimmingdimnessdims

Derived forms autodimmingbedimdim-headeddim-litdim-sighteddimbodimlydimmabledimmerdimmishdimmitydimmy

Related forms cheerless dark pallid

Appears in

Idioms (1)

See all

take a dim view of
To judge something negatively or regard it with doubt or disapproval.

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”).

dim Old English *dimm Proto-West Germanic *dimmaz Proto-Germanic *dʰem- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# dim

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** adj, verb
**IPA (US):** /dɪm/
**Frequency rank:** 9947

## Meanings
1. Not bright; giving or having little light.
2. Not clear; hard to see or remember.
3. To make a light less bright, or to become less bright.
4. Not very intelligent.

## Examples
- The room was too dim for me to read comfortably.
- I have only a dim memory of my early childhood.
- The lights dimmed and the film began.
- He's a bit dim, but he means well.

## Synonyms
- bland
- colourless
- dingy
- dull
- dusk
- faint
- lackluster
- leaden
- muddy
- sad
- sober
- uncolorful

## Antonyms
- bright
- colored
- multicolored

## Derived Forms
- autodimming
- bedim
- dim-headed
- dim-lit
- dim-sighted
- dimbo
- dimly
- dimmable
- dimmer
- dimmish
- dimmity
- dimmy

## Related Forms
- cheerless
- dark
- pallid

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: dim
- Root: *dimm
- Root: *dimmaz
- Root: *dʰem-

## 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”).

## AI Etymology
dim comes 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”). The historical chain includes Middle English dim, Old English dim, Proto-West Germanic *dimm, Proto-Germanic *dimmaz, Proto-Indo-European *dʰem-. Current senses include Not bright; giving or having little light and Not clear; hard to see or remember. English relatives and later formations include autodimming, bedim, dim-headed, cheerless, dark.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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dim