List of 426 Sets of Synonyms - How they Differ - Total of 2307 Words - 99

SYNONYMS: dark, dim, murky, dusky, obscure, opaque, shady, shadowy.
These adjectives indicate the absence of light or clarity.

Dark, the most widely applicable, can refer to insufficiency of illumination for seeing: Under the earth, in the flat, dark air, the wet, gloomy rock gave quarter grudgingly. The word can also denote deepness of shade or color (dark brown), absence of cheer (a dark, somber mood), or lack of rectitude:
Dim suggests lack of clarity of outline, as of physical entities or mental processes such as recollection: It was now just a dim memory. It can also apply to a source of light to indicate insufficiency: They both sat in the dim light, just thinking to themselves.
Murky implies darkness, often extreme, such as that produced by smoke or fog: It was a murky lake. The path was altogether indiscernible in the murky darkness. Figuratively it can imply dark vagueness: He had one good deed in a murky life of guilt.
Dusky applies principally to the dimness that is characteristic of diminishing light, as at twilight: It often refers to deepness of shade of a color: A dusky blush rose to her cheek.
Obscure usually means unclear to the mind or senses (an obscure communique requiring clarification), but it can refer to physical darkness (the obscure rooms of a shuttered mansion).
Opaque means not admitting penetration by light (opaque rock crystals); figuratively it applies to something that is unintelligible: Nixon confined himself to opaque philosophical statements that indicated he was not ready for a discussion of basic assumptions.
Shady refers literally to what is sheltered from light, especially sunlight (a shady grove of trees) or figuratively to what is of questionable honesty (shady business deals).
Shadowy also implies obstructed light (a shadowy avenue through thick foliage) but may suggest shifting illumination and indistinctness: He retreated from the limelight to the shadowy fringe of music history. The word can refer to something that seems to lack substance and is mysterious and possibly sinister: a shadowy figure in a black Homburg traversing the fogbound park.