Dark.
Synonyms:
| black, | dusky, | mysterious, | sable, | somber, |
| dim, | gloomy, | obscure, | shadowy, | swart, |
| dismal, | murky, | opaque, | shady, | swarthy. |
Strictly, that which is black is absolutely destitute of color; that which is dark is absolutely destitute of light. In common speech, however, a coat is black, tho not optically colorless; the night is dark, tho the stars shine. That is obscure, shadowy, or shady from which the light is more or less cut off. Dusky is applied to objects which appear as if viewed in fading light; the word is often used, as are swart and swarthy, of the human skin when quite dark, or even verging toward black. Dim refers to imperfection of outline, from distance, darkness, mist, etc., or from some defect of vision. Opaque objects, as smoked glass, are impervious to light. Murky is said of that which is at once dark, obscure, and gloomy; as, a murky den; a murky sky. Figuratively, dark is emblematic of sadness, agreeing with somber, dismal, gloomy, also of moral evil; as, a dark deed. Of intellectual matters, dark is now rarely used in the old sense of a dark saying, etc. See MYSTERIOUS; OBSCURE.
Antonyms:
| bright, | crystalline, | glowing, | lucid, | shining, |
| brilliant, | dazzling, | illumined, | luminous, | transparent, |
| clear, | gleaming, | light, | radiant, | white. |
Compare synonyms for LIGHT.