darkness

[ dahrk-nis ]

/ ˈdɑrk nɪs /

the state or quality of being dark: The room was in total darkness.

absence or deficiency of light: the darkness of night.

wickedness or evil: Satan, the prince of darkness.

obscurity; concealment: The darkness of the metaphor destroyed its effectiveness.

lack of knowledge or enlightenment: heathen darkness.

lack of sight; blindness.

Origin of darkness

before 1050; Middle English derknesse, Old English deorcnysse. See dark, -ness

pre·dark·ness, noun

And then that chorus kicks in, and the young lady formerly known as Lizzy Grant transforms into the princess of darkness.

The 14 Best Songs of 2014: Bobby Shmurda, Future Islands, Drake, and More |Marlow Stern |December 31, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The city of Stanleyville—now called Kisangani—was a majestic port city as deep as one can go into the Heart of Darkness.

The Congo's Forgotten Colonial Getaway |Nina Strochlic |December 18, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
But when the darkness closes in, we actually run to fairy tales and fables.

On Torture, Chuck Johnson & Sondheim |James Poulos |December 13, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
They pulled up in unmarked cars and on motorcycles, appearing en masse out of the darkness.

Eric Garner Protests: ‘It’s Like Vietnam’ |Abby Haglage, Caitlin Dickson, Jacob Siegel, Chris Allbritton |December 5, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Instead, it would return European civilization back to a period of darkness not witnessed since the Middle Ages.

How WWI Produced the Holocaust |J.P. O’Malley |November 21, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
It was not an easy business to let any glimmer of spiritual light in upon the darkness of that sordid mind.

Fenton's Quest |M. E. Braddon
For an hour he stood in the darkness and tried to think things out.

Marching Men |Sherwood Anderson
Since King David's time, we all know the power of music to dispel the spirits of darkness.

The Catholic World, Vol. X, October 1869 |Various
Already our man had gone round the gallery and the corridor was all in darkness.

The Hound of the Baskervilles |A. Conan Doyle
A figure, seen indistinctly in the darkness, stood before her.

From Canal Boy to President |Horatio Alger, Jr.