1
as in stains
to make dirty
blackened the towels with their dirty hands
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in libels
to make untrue and harmful statements about
the politician maliciously blackened his opponent's reputation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in darkens
to make dark, dim, or indistinct
thick smoke from the forest fires blackened the sky for many miles
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blackens
Verb
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Blood still regularly stains the floors of the Coliseum’s rings.—
Vann R. Newkirk II,
The Atlantic,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Today, as a government shutdown darkens our national museums and the National Endowment for the Humanities is gutted, the danger is no longer a matter of rhetoric but of radical, systemic action.—
Andrew Weinstein,
Time,
24 Oct. 2025
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The tree produces an annual fall harvest of walnuts, enclosed in a green husk that darkens when ripe.—
Jenna Prestininzi,
Freep.com,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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But in a market where definitional confusion obscures risk and competitive tensions drive narratives, distinguishing signal from noise is increasingly critical and difficult.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
20 Oct. 2025
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China, by contrast, communicates through political rhetoric that obscures bureaucratic intent.—
Lizzi C. Lee,
Time,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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To show him who’s boss, Catherine turns around and buys Pac-North, humiliates him by closing it, and forces him back to Grey Sloan.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
9 Oct. 2025
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There’s always a moment in which somebody humiliates the villain and now all the love in him is gone.—
Daniel D'Addario,
Variety,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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For a garden that blurs the lines between traditional and modern, combine a clean hardscape with aged materials and spilling plants.—
Miranda Crowell,
Better Homes & Gardens,
17 Oct. 2025
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Civil liberties groups and university associations have since argued that the order blurs the line between national security vetting and political censorship.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In its weekly online newsletter, which reaches and inspires jihadists across the globe, the group routinely maligns Shara and the new government and calls for soldiers in the Syrian military to defect.—
Caroline Rose,
Foreign Affairs,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Dim sunlight smudges skies for only a few hours in the depth of winter.—
Tom Vanden Brook,
USA Today,
13 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Even without such a collapse, the influx of synthetic junk muddies the waters for real users.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
20 Oct. 2025
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But the latest inflation data, where both hiring slowed and prices rose, muddies the picture.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
16 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Blackens.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blackens. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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