blacken Hear it!

blacken definition

blacken (blak′ən)

intransitive verb

to become black or dark

Etymology: ME blaknen < blak, black

transitive verb

  1. to make black; darken
  2. to hurt or damage by slander, libel, etc. to blacken a reputation

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

blacken Synonyms

blacken

v.

  1. To make black

    darken, nigrify, make black, begrime; see dirty, shade 2.

  2. To smirch

    sully, tarnish, attack; see slander.

  3. To become black

    grow black, grow dark, dim, deepen; see shade 3.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

blacken Usage Examples

Object

  • sky: When I arrived the heavens opened and the sky blackened just in time to see... .

Preposition: with

  • soot: The script is engraved into the pole with a knife, then blackened with soot.

Subject

  • frost: Pots emerging, a little blackened by last frost.

Modifying Another Word

  • slightly: Cook, stirring occasionally, for 30-40 minutes or until slightly blackened.

Preposition: by

  • frost: Pots emerging, a little blackened by last frost.
blacken usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

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MLA Style

"blacken." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/blacken>

APA Style

blacken. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/blacken

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