1
as in to stain
to make dirty
blackened the towels with their dirty hands
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of blacken
Some dishes don’t quite live up to their big ideas: a pot of mussels steamed with chickpeas and spicy ’nduja arrived a little on the dry side, and a Caesar salad, topped with crunchy bits of anchovy, the lettuce blackened on the grill, was blobbily overdressed.
—
Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 6 July 2025
Detectives described bruises all over Gray's body, face, and neck along with severe swelling to her face and eyes, which were blackened.
—Jade Jackson, IndyStar, 2 July 2025
The site was visibly blackened by the degree of rubble thrown up by the strikes.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 23 June 2025
Broil the bell pepper for 4 to 6 minutes, until the skin starts to blacken.
—Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for blacken
Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 6 July 2025
Detectives described bruises all over Gray's body, face, and neck along with severe swelling to her face and eyes, which were blackened.
—Jade Jackson, IndyStar, 2 July 2025
The site was visibly blackened by the degree of rubble thrown up by the strikes.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 23 June 2025
Broil the bell pepper for 4 to 6 minutes, until the skin starts to blacken.
—Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for blacken
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blacken
Verb
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However, the damage was done, thanks to the anchoring bias where the news broke, it was already stained in people’s memory.—
Pamela N. Danziger,
Forbes.com,
22 July 2025
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It was stained in several places, disintegrating around the edges, and already yellowing due to years of exposure to air and sunlight and, quite possibly, pipe tobacco.—
Darcy Ballantyne
July 16,
Literary Hub,
16 July 2025
Verb
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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
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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
Verb
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But perceptions of where the economy is heading have darkened.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 July 2025
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Just after sunset, as the sky begins to darken, a 2%-lit waxing crescent moon will appear just hours after being in its invisible new phase.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
23 July 2025
Verb
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Some were prosthetic buttocks, but others were people’s own buttocks, but in various states, like dirtied down and with partial covering.—
Alex Ritman,
Variety,
1 July 2025
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Crow-Armstrong has dirtied up the White Sox in six of those games, batting .458 with eight RBIs and a homer.—
Kalen Lumpkins,
Chicago Tribune,
27 June 2025
Verb
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Blood appeared to be smeared across the woman’s nose and mouth and across the sheets, according to court documents.—
Kendrick Calfee,
Kansas City Star,
26 June 2025
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In the video, Adira takes a special liking to the lipstick, smearing it all over her own mouth and chin, while Olympia seemed to be taking her mom’s notes on how to perfect a makeup look.—
Rachel McRady,
People.com,
18 June 2025
Verb
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By the time of totality at 3:20 p.m., dense clouds obscured the view, with an eerie darkness and a golden horizon.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
23 July 2025
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He was either shrouded in haze (the gasps of the fog machine eventually became indistinguishable from the vapor being collectively exhaled by the crowd) or obscured by low-angle backlighting.—
Amanda Petrusich,
New Yorker,
21 July 2025
Verb
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Their reputations were besmirched.—
The Editors,
National Review,
17 Dec. 2024
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Images illustrating the reality versus carefully edited Instagram selfies have somewhat besmirched Santorini’s romantic reputation of late.—
Helen Iatrou,
AFAR Media,
16 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Over 24 cycles, the show humiliated hundreds of young, naïve women (and, briefly, men) in the name of entertainment.—
Emily Palmer Heller,
Vulture,
9 July 2025
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Soldatov said that along this path was the 2008 war in Georgia, which showed the Russian army would not be humiliated anymore.—
Brendan Cole,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Blacken.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blacken. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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