darken

Meanings

Verb

become dark or darker
- "The sky darkened"
tarnish or stain
- "a scandal that darkened the family's good name"
make dark or darker
- "darken a room"
To make dark or darker by reducing light.
To become dark or darker (having less light).
To get dark (referring to the sky, either in the evening or as a result of cloud).
To make dark or darker in colour.
To become dark or darker in colour.
To render gloomy, darker in mood.
To become gloomy, darker in mood.
To blind, impair the eyesight.
To be blinded, lose one’s eyesight.
To cloud, obscure, or perplex; to render less clear or intelligible.
To make foul; to sully; to tarnish.
To be extinguished or deprived of vitality, to die.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English derkenen, dirkenen, from Old English *deorcnian, *diercnian (“to darken”), from Proto-West Germanic *dirkinōn (“to darken”), equivalent to dark + -en.
Cognate with Scots derken, durken (“to darken”), Old High German tarchanjan, terchinen (“to darken”), Middle High German terken, derken (“to darken”).

Synonyms

blacken, dusk, swarten

Antonyms

brighten, lighten

Scrabble Score: 11

darken is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
darken is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
darken is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 12

darken is a valid Words With Friends word