noun · neutral
darkness
UK/ˈdɑːknəs/US/ˈdɑrk.nəs/DARK·ness
Band 5-6speakingtask2
the state of having little or no light; the quality of being dark
Examples
“The sudden darkness made it hard to find our way.”
“Many animals are more active in the darkness of night.”
“She feared the darkness and always slept with a night light.”
Band 8 sentence
“Street lighting plays a crucial role in reducing crime by eliminating areas of darkness.”
Collocations
- in the darkness
- total/complete darkness
- fear of darkness
Word family
dark adjectivedarkly adverbdarkness noun
Common mistakes
in darkness→in the darkness
darkness is everywhere during night→darkness is everywhere at night
Say it for a higher band
5black→6dark→7+darkness
Synonyms
gloom
obscurity
Easily confused
gloom
“The gloom of the abandoned house was obvious.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In -ness
Learn it with its set