blackened 1 of 2

adjective

ˈbla-kənd How to pronounce blackened (audio)
Definition of blackenednext
as in stained
not clean the church's blackened ceiling is the result of centuries of candle smoke

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blackened

2 of 2

verb

past tense of blacken
1
as in dirtied
to make dirty blackened the towels with their dirty hands

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2
as in smeared
to make untrue and harmful statements about the politician maliciously blackened his opponent's reputation

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3
as in darkened
to make dark, dim, or indistinct thick smoke from the forest fires blackened the sky for many miles

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4
as in faded
to grow dark the auditorium blackened suddenly, and a spotlighted performer appeared alone on stage

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of blackened
Adjective
The land, unfenced, abuts a bald blackened hillside that must be public land. — Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
Verb
Corbin uses cabbage as an anchor in his new and expanding Rolodex of flavors, thrusting it into the fire until the outer layers are blackened and frizzled. — Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026 Timber Fire Monterey County’s Timber Fire burning near Big Sur has blackened nearly 2,500 acres since its start Monday afternoon and is 5% contained. — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 11 Aug. 2026 The old silver and gold shops, their facades blackened by time, were gone. — Lina Sergie Attar, Time, 6 Aug. 2026 It was blackened, charred, the conductor that had drawn the single precise punch of lightning. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 27 July 2026 Large sections of the ceiling were destroyed, blackened and charred, while the floor and tables below, some still with beer bottles on them, were blanketed in ash and debris. — ABC News, 13 July 2026 Pictures shared on social media after the fire was extinguished showed chairs and tables inside the pub completely charred and blackened, with parts of the ceiling peeling off. — Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 12 July 2026 In late fall, after frost has blackened the plants, very carefully dig up the tubers. — Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 11 July 2026 The kernels should develop dark golden spots without becoming overly blackened. — Staff, FOXNews.com, 3 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blackened
  1. stained
  2. dirtied
  3. smeared
  4. darkened
  5. filthy
  6. disgraced
  7. obscured
  8. dusty
Adjective
  • How To Deep Clean Stained Wood Baseboards For stained wood baseboards, Matthews advises dusting using a dry microfiber cloth and Murphy’s Oil or a wood cleaning oil (remove excessive dirt and crumbs with a vacuum cleaner first).
    — Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The stained glass above the front door had fallen into the street, held up only by a single cord.
    — Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of stained
Verb
  • When stormwater dirtied by road runoff, failing septic tanks and fertilizer sullied crystal-clear rivers and lakes, and nobody cared.
    — Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Jan. 2026
  • Garments can be dirtied again by the elements if air-dried outside.
    — Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Dec. 2025
Definition of dirtied
Verb
  • Camille can still picture Burke standing over her, fake blood smeared across her dress.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 5 Aug. 2026
  • There’s rarely anything as straightforward as a kick drum, a hi-hat, or even a bassline here; instead, everything is smeared, all origins occulted in a thicket of echoes and reflections.
    — Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of smeared
Verb
  • The sky darkened suddenly, as if it had been turned down by a dimmer switch, and Decoteau frowned at a weather app on his phone.
    — Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
  • The funeral was held less than a week after her signature song served as the soundtrack at celebrations marking a total eclipse that darkened skies across parts of Europe.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of darkened
Adjective
  • People were filthy in so many ways, so Mike really wrote that in.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 20 Aug. 2026
  • While sinks can become filthy from soap splatters and dirty hands, toilets need cleaning for very different reasons.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of filthy
Verb
  • Eugenie, who is twelfth in line to the British throne, is the second daughter of King Charles III’s disgraced younger brother, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
    — Jack Guy, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2026
  • The pair’s announcement comes shortly after RadarOnline reported that Eugenie’s father, disgraced former Prince Andrew, will not meet Adelaide in person.
    — Allison DeGrushe, StyleCaster, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of disgraced
Verb
  • The lack of a unified Democratic agenda, and the president’s usual reluctance to stay on message, has obscured the trend running under everything.
    — David Weigel, semafor.com, 26 Aug. 2026
  • She was held up as the pop cultural equivalent of a saint to a degree that sometimes obscured and distorted her creative drive and business acumen.
    — Jewly Hight, NPR, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of obscured
Adjective
  • Choose from more than 20 colors, including dusty pink, fall-ready forest green, and classic cream.
    — Better Homes & Gardens, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The arc could be, for instance, a chance alignment of unrelated stars, the product of gravitational lensing from a background galaxy, or a dusty region that happens to mimic a stream's shape.
    — Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of dusty

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blackened
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Cite this Entry

“Blackened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blackened. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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