darken

[ dahr-kuhn ]
/ ˈdɑr kən /

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Idioms for darken

    darken someone's door, to come to visit; make an appearance: Never darken my door again!

Origin of darken

First recorded in 1250–1300, darken is from the Middle English word derknen. See dark, -en1

SYNONYMS FOR darken

4 depress, dispirit, blacken, deject.

OTHER WORDS FROM darken

dark·en·er, noun un·dark·en, verb (used with object) well-dark·ened, adjective

Words nearby darken

dark-adapted eye, dark-eyed junco, dark-field, dark-field illumination, dark-field microscope, darken, darken someone's door, darkie, darkish, darkle, darkling

British Dictionary definitions for darken someone's door

darken
/ (ˈdɑːkən) /

verb

to make or become dark or darker
to make or become gloomy, angry, or sad his mood darkened
darken someone's door (usually used with a negative) to visit someone never darken my door again!

Derived forms of darken

darkener, noun

Idioms and Phrases with darken someone's door

darken someone's door

Come unwanted to someone's home, as in I told him to get out and never darken my door again. The verb darken here refers to casting one's shadow across the threshold, a word that occasionally was substituted for door. As an imperative, the expression is associated with Victorian melodrama, where someone (usually a young woman or man) is thrown out of the parental home for some misdeed, but it is actually much older. Benjamin Franklin used it in The Busybody (1729): “I am afraid she would resent it so as never to darken my doors again.”