blacken

Verb

Meaning

To make or render black.

To make dark; to darken; to cloud.

To defame; to sully, as reputation; to make infamous; as, vice blackens the character.

To grow black or dark.

Source: Webster's dictionary

Synonyms

black defame sully char soil dirty slander taint tarnish sear denigrate vilify scorch malign traduce
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Antonyms

whiten laurel kindle wash white award
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Hypernyms

color colour burn discolor discolour

Hyponyms

singe swinge

Phrases with the word

blacken the name of blacken someone's name blacken someone's character blacken the reputation of

Derivatives

blackened blackening

Examples

Malice delights to blacken the characters of prominent men. Napoleon Bonaparte

... the Saudis have never shown any respect for human rights, either now or in the past. Even a petty burglar faces having one of his hands chopped off. The liberal press in America prefers to ignore all this, although they don't hesitate to blacken the reputation of Iran. Muhammad Reza Pahlavi

Once we reject lyricism, to blacken a page becomes an ordeal: what's the use of writing in order to say exactly what we had to say? Emil Cioran

But I'm no hero. I had to keep my dirty little secret. The worst sin I committed was holding it in; letting the secret blacken me. Julie Anne Peters

Too many words blacken your ears. Burundi Proverb

If the fire does not burn you the smoke will blacken you. French Proverb

Close letter words and terms

blacked out blackedge tetra blackedy-black blacken out blacken someone's character blacken someone's name