dark: Meaning and Definition of

dark

Pronunciation: (därk), [key]
— adj., n., v. -er, -est,
—adj.
  1. having very little or no light: a dark room.
  2. radiating, admitting, or reflecting little light: a dark color.
  3. approaching black in hue: a dark brown.
  4. not pale or fair; swarthy: a dark complexion.
  5. brunette; dark-colored: dark eyebrows.
  6. having brunette hair: She's dark but her children are blond.
  7. (of coffee) containing only a small amount of milk or cream.
  8. gloomy; cheerless; dismal: the dark days of World War II.
  9. sullen; frowning: a dark expression.
  10. evil; iniquitous; wicked: a dark plot.
  11. destitute of knowledge or culture; unenlightened.
  12. hard to understand; obscure.
  13. hidden; secret.
  14. silent; reticent.
  15. (of a theater) offering no performances; closed: The theaters in this town are dark on Sundays.
    1. (of an l-sound) having back-vowel resonance; situated after a vowel in the same syllable. Cf. clear (def. 24a).
    2. (of a speech sound) of dull quality; acoustically damped.
  16. to keep as a secret; conceal: They kept their political activities dark.
—n.
  1. the absence of light; darkness: I can't see well in the dark.
  2. night; nightfall: Please come home before dark.
  3. a dark place.
  4. a dark color.
  5. He was in the dark about their plans for the evening.
    1. in ignorance; uninformed:He was in the dark about their plans for the evening.
    2. in secrecy; concealed; obscure.
—v.t.
  1. to make dark; darken.
—v.i.
  1. to grow dark; darken.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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