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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

darkly.

With insufficient light for easy discernment or comprehension.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adv/ˈdɑːkli/Received-Pronunciation/ˈdɑɹkli/General-American
  1. With insufficient light for easy discernment or comprehension.

    I could make out his image darkly.
  2. With a dark appearance.

  3. In a manner which is not readily visible or noticeable; inconspicuously.

    figuratively
  4. In a manner which retards or prevents discernment; clandestinely.

    figuratively
  5. In a manner which is difficult to understand, or which retards or prevents understanding; incomprehensibly.

    figuratively
  6. In a manner which tends to produce uncertainty or confusion; bewilderingly.

    figuratively
  7. In a manner which produces an inward conviction of future misfortune; ominously.

    figuratively
  8. In a morbid manner; morbidly, sinisterly.

    figuratively
    a darkly comic dystopian drama
Where this word comes from

From Middle English derkly, derkely, derkliche, derkeliche; equivalent to dark + -ly. Compare Old English deorclīċe, a parallel formation.

adj/ˈdɑːkli/Received-Pronunciation/ˈdɑɹkli/General-American
  1. Relating to darkness or obscurity.

    poetic
Where this word comes from

From Middle English derkely, equivalent to dark + -ly.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.