Dark Meaning
/dɑːk/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjHaving an absolute or (more often) relative lack of light.
adjHaving an absolute or (more often) relative lack of light., Extinguished.
Sentence Examples
It's all dark outside.
All cats are grey in the dark.
Are the children afraid of the dark?
CEFR Practice Quiz
The room became so ____ that I could not see my hand.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It's all ____ outside.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English derk, from Old English deorc, from Proto-West Germanic *derk (“dark”), of uncertain origin, but possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerg- (“dim, dull”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- (“dull, dirty”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"It was a dark and stormy night, the rain fell in torrents—except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets […]"
— 1830, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter I, in Paul Clifford. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 1:
"They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. And why else was he put away up there out of sight?—and so magnificent a brush as he had too."
— 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
"[Rural solar plant] schemes are of little help to industry or other heavy users of electricity. Nor is solar power yet as cheap as the grid. For all that, the rapid arrival of electric light to Indian villages is long overdue. When the national grid suffers its next huge outage, as it did in July 2012 when hundreds of millions were left in the dark, look for specks of light in the villages."
— 2013 July 20, “Out of the gloom”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
"He was, I think, at this time quite dark, and so had been for some years."
— 1661 April 7 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 29 March 1661]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […]; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, […], published 1819, →OCLC:
"Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. The clear light of the bright autumn morning had no terrors for youth and health like hers."
— 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The room became so ____ that I could not see my hand.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It's all ____ outside.