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Synonyms

blacken

American  
[blak-uhn] / ˈblæk ən /

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 British  
/ ˈblækən /

verb

  1. to make or become black or dirty

  2. (tr) to defame; slander (esp in the phrase blacken someone's name )

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • blackener noun

Etymology

Origin of blacken

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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.