Emily Dickinson Lexicon

DARK'EN, v.t. [dàrkn; Sax. adeorcian.]

1. To make dark; to deprive of light; as, close the shutters and darken the room.
2. To obscure; to cloud. His confidence seldom darkened his foresight. – Bacon.
3. To make black. The locusts darkened the land. – Ex. x.
4. To make dim; to deprive of vision. Let their eyes be darkened. – Rom. xi.
5. To render gloomy; as, all joy is darkened. – Is. xxiv.
6. To deprive of intellectual vision; to render ignorant or stupid. Their foolish heart was darkened. – Rom. i. Having the understanding darkened. – Eph. iv.
7. To obscure; to perplex; to render less clear or intelligible. Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? – Job xxxviii.
8. To render less white or clear; to tan; as, a burning sun darkens the complexion.
9. To sully; to make foul. – Tillotson.