blacken

verb

ˈbla-kən 
Definition of blacken
1
as in to stain
to make dirty blackened the towels with their dirty hands

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to libel
to make untrue and harmful statements about the politician maliciously blackened his opponent's reputation

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to darken
to make dark, dim, or indistinct thick smoke from the forest fires blackened the sky for many miles

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4
as in to dusk
to grow dark the auditorium blackened suddenly, and a spotlighted performer appeared alone on stage

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of blacken Large sections of the ceiling were destroyed, blackened and charred, while the floor and tables below, some still with beer bottles on them, were blanketed in ash and debris. — ABC News, 13 July 2026 Pictures shared on social media after the fire was extinguished showed chairs and tables inside the pub completely charred and blackened, with parts of the ceiling peeling off. — Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 12 July 2026 Check monthly for signs of shriveling (add moisture), blackening or softening (discard). — Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 11 July 2026 Many of them, like Tubbs, were refugee Midwesterners, sick of parching droughts and devouring plagues of locusts, the insects descending in buzzing clouds thick enough to blacken the noonday sun. — Literary Hub, 10 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for blacken
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blacken
  1. stain
  2. libel
  3. darken
  4. dirty
  5. smear
  6. obscure
  7. besmirch
  8. humiliate
Verb
  • But even the most dependable pieces eventually become too stained, scratched, or mismatched for food storage.
    — Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Clark’s denim featured unique distressing, looking as if the denim was once white and stained with coffee.
    — Amina Ayoud, Footwear News, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of stain
Verb
  • In 2022, Manhattan Federal Judge Jed Rakoff, who presided over both trials, decided The Times was not liable for defamation while jurors were deliberating, that the error amounted to unfortunate editorializing but not libel.
    — Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 22 Apr. 2025
  • As a new, inexpensive Chevrolet appeared in 1927 and The Dearborn Independent was sued for libeling a number of Jewish businessmen, Ford threw in the towel and apologized.
    — George Pendle, airmail.news, 15 Mar. 2025
Definition of libel
Verb
  • However, they can be ordered with Transitions lenses that darken outdoors and clear up inside.
    — Scott Kramer, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026
  • The title references Black Like Me, white journalist John Howard Griffin’s 1961 nonfiction book about darkening his skin to pass for Black in the Jim Crow South.
    — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of darken
Verb
  • Satisfy your lasagna craving without dirtying up a pile of dishes.
    — Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 9 July 2026
  • The zipper shoe compartment keeps your shoes from dirtying up your clothing, and the massive interior can hold many outfits for your weekend getaway.
    — Olivia Dubyak, Travel + Leisure, 9 Mar. 2026
Definition of dirty
Verb
  • Darker smears around the crater’s rim contain surface rocks and lunar dust called regolith previously altered by solar winds, micrometeorites, and cosmic radiation over an extended period of time.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The atmosphere works on them a little bit harder and reduces their strength and smears them a little bit more.
    — Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of smear
Verb
  • Eclipses always travel in pairs as the sun, moon and Earth align so precisely that one obscures the other.
    — Marcia Dunn, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Those facts are obscured by their 8-8 record since a disappointing haul before the trade deadline.
    — Michael Cunningham, AJC.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of obscure
Verb
  • Troubled by all the people besmirching the occupation, a group of agents formed a national trade group in 1908—the one eventually known as NAR.
    — Michael Waters, The Atlantic, 22 Aug. 2026
  • In her response, Hajdini cast Rana as manipulative and deceitful, intent on ruining her life and besmirching her employer through his sensational accusations.
    — David Chiu, PEOPLE, 28 May 2026
Definition of besmirch
Verb
  • Much of the behavior on display is plainly harassment and bullying, often filmed without the subjects’ knowledge or consent and uploaded online to humiliate them further.
    — Maggie Harrison Dupré, Futurism, 19 Aug. 2026
  • In their first national title game, the Wildcats humiliated Oklahoma in the national semifinal by 44, and in their second, demoralized Michigan in the title game by 17.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of humiliate

Browse Nearby Words

blacked out
blacken
blackened
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Cite this Entry

“Blacken.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blacken. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.

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