blacken

[ blak-uhn ]

verb (used with object)

1. to make black; darken.
2. to speak evil of; defame:

   to blacken a person's reputation.

   Synonyms: calumniate, traduce, libel, slander, smear, denigrate

verb (used without object)

1. to grow or become black.

blacken

/ ˈblækən /

verb

1. to make or become black or dirty
2. tr to defame; slander (esp in the phrase blacken someone's name )

Other Words From

• blacken·er noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of blacken¹

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; black, -en ¹

Example Sentences

Many of the lemon trees remain, as if untouched; others were wiped out completely, the hills where they stood blackened and desiccated.

From Los Angeles Times

As Jensen used a window screen to sift the safe’s ashen contents for diamonds and stones, his wife Dawn DaMart wandered the blackened foundation searching for tokens of the couple’s life before the Mountain fire.

From Los Angeles Times

There’s so much character in the stray paint strokes, the blackened thighs.

From Los Angeles Times

After a major pipeline rupture five years ago, he started photographing and filming pools of oily water and heaps of blackened soil in locations in Unity State, including sites near Roriak, where the herders live.

From BBC

Zahraa wept when she saw footage of their blackened and mangled building.

From BBC

Related Words

• blot
• smudge
• stain
• sully
• tarnish