dark (redirected from A Stab In The Dark)

dark  (därk)

adj. dark·er, dark·est

1.

a. Lacking or having very little light: a dark corner.

b. Lacking brightness: a dark day.

2. Reflecting only a small fraction of incident light.

3. Of a shade tending toward black in comparison with other shades. Used of a color.

4. Having a complexion that is not fair; swarthy.

5. Served without milk or cream: dark coffee.

6. Characterized by gloom; dismal: took a dark view of the consequences.

7. Sullen or threatening: a dark scowl.

8. Difficult to understand; obscure: stories that are large in scope and dark in substance.

9. Concealed or secret; mysterious: "the dark mysteries of Africa and the fabled wonders of the East" (W. Bruce Lincoln).

10. Lacking enlightenment, knowledge, or culture: a dark age in the history of education.

11. Exhibiting or stemming from evil characteristics or forces; sinister: "churned up dark undercurrents of ethnic and religious hostility" (Peter Maas).

12. Being or characterized by morbid or grimly satiric humor.

13. Having richness or depth: a dark, melancholy vocal tone.

14. Not giving performances; closed: The movie theater is dark on Mondays.

15. Linguistics Pronounced with the back of the tongue raised toward the velum. Used of the sound (l) in words like full.

n.

1. Absence of light.

2. A place having little or no light.

3. Night; nightfall: home before dark.

4. A deep hue or color.

Idiom:

in the dark

1. In secret: high-level decisions made in the dark.

2. In a state of ignorance; uninformed: kept me in the dark about their plans.

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[Middle English derk, from Old English deorc.]

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darkish adj.

darkly adv.

darkness n.

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 (a dark evening), deepness of shade or color (dark brown), absence of cheer (a dark, somber mood), or lack of rectitude (a dark past). Dim suggests lack of clarity of outline: "life and the memory of it cramped,/dim, on a piece of Bristol board" (Elizabeth Bishop).
It can also apply to a source of light to indicate insufficiency: "storied Windows richly dight,/Casting a dim religious light" (John Milton).
Murky implies darkness, often extreme, such as that produced by smoke or fog: "The path was altogether indiscernible in the murky darkness which surrounded them" (Sir Walter Scott).
Dusky suggests the dimness that is characteristic of diminishing light, as at twilight: "The dusky night rides down the sky,/And ushers in the morn" (Henry Fielding).
Also, it often refers to deepness of shade of a color: "A dusky blush rose to her cheek" (Edith Wharton).
Obscure usually means unclear to the mind or senses, but it can refer to physical darkness: the obscure rooms of a shuttered mansion.
Opaque means incapable of being penetrated by light: an opaque window shade
; figuratively it applies to something that is unintelligible: opaque philosophical arguments.
Shady refers literally to what is sheltered from light, especially sunlight (a shady grove of pines) or figuratively to what is of questionable honesty (shady business deals). Shadowy also implies obstructed light (a shadowy path) but may suggest shifting illumination and indistinctness: "[He] retreated from the limelight to the shadowy fringe of music history" (Charles Sherman).
It can also refer to something that seems to lack substance and is mysterious or sinister: a shadowy figure in a black cape.

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dark [dɑːk]

adj

1. having little or no light a dark street

2. (Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Colours) (of a colour) reflecting or transmitting little light dark brown Compare light¹ [29] medium [2]

3.

a.  (of complexion, hair colour, etc.) not fair or blond; swarthy; brunette

b.  (in combination) dark-eyed

4. gloomy or dismal

5. sinister; evil a dark purpose

6. sullen or angry a dark scowl

7. ignorant or unenlightened a dark period in our history

8. secret or mysterious keep it dark

9. (Linguistics / Phonetics & Phonology) Phonetics denoting an (l) pronounced with a velar articulation giving back vowel resonance. In English, l is usually dark when final or preconsonantal. Compare light¹ [30]

n

1. absence of light; darkness

2. night or nightfall

3. a dark place, patch, or shadow

4. a state of ignorance (esp in the phrase in the dark)

vb

an archaic word for darken

[Old English deorc; related to Old High German terchennen to hide]

darkish  adj

darkly  adv

darkness  n

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	dark - absence of light or illumination     darkness illumination - the degree of visibility of your environment night - darkness; "it vanished into the night" lightlessness, pitch blackness, total darkness, black, blackness - total absence of light; "they fumbled around in total darkness"; "in the black of night" brownout, dimout, blackout - darkness resulting from the extinction of lights (as in a city invisible to enemy aircraft) semidarkness - partial darkness lighting, light - having abundant light or illumination; "they played as long as it was light"; "as long as the lighting was good"
	2.	dark - absence of moral or spiritual values; "the powers of darkness" iniquity, wickedness, darkness condition, status - a state at a particular time; "a condition (or state) of disrepair"; "the current status of the arms negotiations" foulness - disgusting wickedness and immorality; "he understood the foulness of sin"; "his display of foulness deserved severe punishment"; "mouths which speak such foulness must be cleansed"
	3.	dark - an unilluminated area; "he moved off into the darkness" darkness, shadow scene - the place where some action occurs; "the police returned to the scene of the crime"
	4.	dark - the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside night, nighttime period, period of time, time period - an amount of time; "a time period of 30 years"; "hastened the period of time of his recovery"; "Picasso's blue period" 24-hour interval, day, mean solar day, solar day, twenty-four hour period, twenty-four hours - time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis; "two days later they left"; "they put on two performances every day"; "there are 30,000 passengers per day" weeknight - any night of the week except Saturday or Sunday evening - the early part of night (from dinner until bedtime) spent in a special way; "an evening at the opera" late-night hour - the latter part of night midnight - 12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night; "young children should not be allowed to stay up until midnight" small hours - the hours just after midnight lights-out - a prescribed bedtime wedding night - the night after the wedding when bride and groom sleep together
	5.	dark - an unenlightened state; "he was in the dark concerning their intentions"; "his lectures dispelled the darkness" darkness unenlightenment - a lack of understanding
Adj.	1.	dark - devoid of or deficient in light or brightness; shadowed or black; "sitting in a dark corner"; "a dark day"; "dark shadows"; "dark as the inside of a black cat" light - characterized by or emitting light; "a room that is light when the shutters are open"; "the inside of the house was airy and light"
	2.	dark - (used of color) having a dark hue; "dark green"; "dark glasses"; "dark colors like wine red or navy blue" black - being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light; "black leather jackets"; "as black as coal"; "rich black soil" light-colored, light - (used of color) having a relatively small amount of coloring agent; "light blue"; "light colors such as pastels"; "a light-colored powder"
	3.	dark - brunet (used of hair or skin or eyes); "dark eyes" brunet, brunette - marked by dark or relatively dark pigmentation of hair or skin or eyes; "a brunette beauty"
	4.	dark - stemming from evil characteristics or forces; wicked or dishonorable; "black deeds"; "a black lie"; "his black heart has concocted yet another black deed"; "Darth Vader of the dark side"; "a dark purpose"; "dark undercurrents of ethnic hostility"; "the scheme of some sinister intelligence bent on punishing him"-Thomas Hardy sinister, black evil - morally bad or wrong; "evil purposes"; "an evil influence"; "evil deeds"
	5.	dark - secret; "keep it dark" concealed - hidden on any grounds for any motive; "a concealed weapon"; "a concealed compartment in his briefcase"
	6.	dark - showing a brooding ill humor; "a dark scowl"; "the proverbially dour New England Puritan"; "a glum, hopeless shrug"; "he sat in moody silence"; "a morose and unsociable manner"; "a saturnine, almost misanthropic young genius"- Bruce Bliven; "a sour temper"; "a sullen crowd" moody, morose, glowering, sullen, glum, saturnine, dour, sour ill-natured - having an irritable and unpleasant disposition
	7.	dark - lacking enlightenment or knowledge or culture; "this benighted country"; "benighted ages of barbarism and superstition"; "the dark ages"; "a dark age in the history of education" benighted unenlightened - not enlightened; ignorant; "the devices by which unenlightened men preserved the unjust social order"
	8.	dark - marked by difficulty of style or expression; "much that was dark is now quite clear to me"; "those who do not appreciate Kafka's work say his style is obscure" obscure uncomprehensible, incomprehensible - difficult to understand; "the most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible"- A. Einstein
	9.	dark - causing dejection; "a blue day"; "the dark days of the war"; "a week of rainy depressing weather"; "a disconsolate winter landscape"; "the first dismal dispiriting days of November"; "a dark gloomy day"; "grim rainy weather" dismal, drear, dreary, disconsolate, gloomy, dingy, drab, sorry, grim, blue cheerless, depressing, uncheerful - causing sad feelings of gloom and inadequacy; "the economic outlook is depressing"; "something cheerless about the room"; "a moody and uncheerful person"; "an uncheerful place"
	10.	dark - having skin rich in melanin pigments; "National Association for the Advancement of Colored People"; "dark-skinned peoples" dark-skinned, non-white, colored, coloured black - of or belonging to a racial group having dark skin especially of sub-Saharan African origin; "a great people--a black people--...injected new meaning and dignity into the veins of civilization"- Martin Luther King Jr.
	11.	dark - not giving performances; closed; "the theater is dark on Mondays" inactive - lacking activity; lying idle or unused; "an inactive mine"; "inactive accounts"; "inactive machinery"

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dark

adjective

1. dim, murky, shady, shadowy, grey, cloudy, dingy, overcast, dusky, unlit, pitch-black, indistinct, poorly lit, sunless, tenebrous, darksome (literary), pitchy, unilluminated It was a dark and stormy night.

2. black, brunette, ebony, dark-skinned, sable, dusky, swarthy a tall, dark and handsome stranger
black light, fair, blonde, blond, fair-haired, flaxen-haired, light-complexioned, towheaded

3. evil, foul, horrible, sinister, infamous, vile, satanic, wicked, atrocious, sinful, hellish, infernal, nefarious, damnable magicians who harnessed dark powers

4. secret, deep, hidden, mysterious, concealed, obscure, mystic, enigmatic, puzzling, occult, arcane, cryptic, abstruse, recondite, Delphic the dark recesses of the mind

5. gloomy, sad, grim, miserable, low, bleak, moody, dismal, pessimistic, melancholy, sombre, morbid, glum, mournful, morose, joyless, doleful, cheerless His endless chatter kept me from thinking dark thoughts.
gloomy clear, bright, glad, pleasant, hopeful, sunny, cheerful, genial

6. angry, threatening, forbidding, frowning, ominous, dour, scowling, sullen, glum, glowering, sulky He shot her a dark glance.

noun

1. darkness, shadows, gloom, dusk, obscurity, murk, dimness, semi-darkness, murkiness I've always been afraid of the dark.

2. night, twilight, evening, dusk, night-time, nightfall after dark

in the dark ignorant, unaware, oblivious, uninformed, out of the loop, unenlightened, blind to something I managed to keep my parents in the dark.

Proverbs
"The darkest hour is just before the dawn"

Translations

dark [dɑːk]

A. ADJ (darker (compar) (darkest (superl)))

1. (= not illuminated) → oscuro
a dark night → una noche cerrada
the room/house was dark (= poky) → era una habitación/casa oscura; (= badly-lit) → la habitación/casa estaba oscura; (= lights not on) → la habitación/casa estaba a oscuras
it was already dark outside → ya había oscurecido, ya era de noche
to get dark → oscurecerse, ponerse oscuro; (at night-time) → oscurecer, hacerse de noche
it gets dark early in winter → en invierno oscurece pronto, en invierno se hace de noche pronto
the dark side of the moon → la cara oculta de la luna

2. (in colour) [colour, clothes] → oscuro; [complexion, hair] → moreno, prieto(Mex); [cloud] → gris
dark blue/red → azul/rojo oscuro
he is tall and dark → es alto y moreno, es alto y prieto(Mex)

3. (= sad, gloomy) [day, period] → aciago; [mood, thoughts] → sombrío
these are dark days for the steel industry → son días aciagos para la industria del acero

4. (= obscure, mysterious) → oscuro
the dark recesses of the human mind → los oscuros recovecos de la mente humana
darkest Africa → lo más recóndito de África
a dark corner of the world → un rincón recóndito del mundo
to keep sth dark → no decir ni pío de algo
keep it dark! → ¡de esto ni una palabra a nadie!
he's a dark horse → es una incógnita, es un enigma

5. (= sinister) [secret, plan, threat] → siniestro
who performed the dark deed? → ¿quién llevó a cabo el vil acto?
I got some dark looks from Janet → Janet me lanzaba miradas asesinas

B. N after dark → después del anochecer
until dark → hasta el anochecer
I want to leave before dark → quiero salir antes de que anochezca, quiero salir antes del anochecer
the dark → la oscuridad
he is afraid of the dark → le tiene miedo a la oscuridad
why are you sitting in the dark? → ¿por qué estás sentado en lo oscuro?
to be in the dark about sth → no saber nada sobre algo
I'm still in the dark (about it) → aún no sé nada(de eso)
to keep/leave sb in the dark about sth → mantener/dejar a algn desinformado de algo, ocultar algo a algn
see shot B5

C. CPD the Dark Ages NPL → la Alta Edad Media
we're still living in the dark ages (fig) → todavía vivimos en la Edad Media
dark chocolate N → chocolate m amargo, chocolate m negro
dark glasses NPL → gafas fpl oscuras
dark matter N (Astron) → materia f oscura

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dark [ˈdɑː^rk]

adj

[night, place, room] → sombre
It was too dark to walk home → Il faisait trop sombre pour rentrer à pied.
it's dark → il fait nuit
It's dark outside → Il fait nuit dehors.
When she awoke it was already dark → Quand elle s'est réveillée, il faisait déjà sombre., Quand elle s'est réveillée, il faisait déjà nuit.
to get dark → commencer à faire nuit
It's getting dark → Il commence à faire nuit.

[colour] → foncé(e), sombre
dark blue → bleu foncé inv
a dark blue dress → une robe bleu foncé
dark green → vert foncé inv
a dark green sweater → un pull vert foncé

(= dark-coloured) [clothes] → foncé(e); [furniture, curtains] → foncé(e); [complexion] → mat(e); [hair] → brun(e); [eyes] → marron inv
She's got dark hair → Elle a les cheveux bruns.
He had dark, curly hair → Il avait les cheveux bruns frisés.

(= dark-skinned) [person] → brun(e)

(= cheerless) [days, period] → sombre

(= sinister) [look] → noir(e); [remark, rumour] → sinistre
I got a dark look from William → William me lança un regard noir.

n

[night] → noir m
I'm afraid of the dark → J'ai peur du noir.
in the dark → dans le noir
after dark → après la tombée de la nuit
before dark → avant la tombée de la nuit

to be in the dark (= ignorant) → être dans le noir (le plus complet)
I'm as much in the dark as you → Je suis, comme toi, dans le noir le plus complet.
to be in the dark about sth → être dans le noir (le plus complet) au sujet de qch
The police are completely in the dark about the killing → La police est dans le noir le plus complet au sujet du meurtre.
a shot in the dark, a stab in the dark (fig) → une idée à tout hasard
Dark Ages npl
the Dark Ages (historical) → le haut Moyen Âge (fig) → le Moyen Âge
a return to the Dark Ages → un retour au Moyen Âge
dark chocolate n → chocolat m noir

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dark

adj (+er)

room, house, street, cloud, colour, hair, eyes, skin → dunkel; it will not be dark for half an hour yet → es wird erst in einer halben Stunde dunkel; it’s getting dark → es wird dunkel; dark blue/grey → dunkelblau/-grau; a dark blue → ein dunkles Blau

(= sad, gloomy) days, period, mood → düster, finster; to think dark thoughts → düsteren Gedanken nachhängen

(= sinister) corner, secret → dunkel; forces → dunkel, finster; look, threat → finster; from darkest Peru → aus dem finstersten Peru; the dark side of something → die Schattenseite einer Sache (gen); she flashed a dark glance at me → sie warf mir einen finsteren Blick zu; to drop dark hints → dunkle Andeutungen machen; dark deed → Übeltat f

(old, = secret) → geheim; to keep something dark → etw geheim halten

(Phon) → velar, dunkel

n

the dark (= darkness) → die Dunkelheit; he was sitting in the dark → er saß im Dunkeln; they aren’t afraid of the dark → sie haben keine Angst im Dunkeln or vor der Dunkelheit; after/before dark → nach/vor Einbruch der Dunkelheit; until dark → bis zum Einbruch der Dunkelheit; we’ll be back after dark → wir kommen wieder, wenn es dunkel ist

(fig) to be in the dark (about something) → keine Ahnung (von etw) haben; to keep or leave somebody in the dark (about something) → jdn (→ über etw acc) → im Dunkeln lassen; we must keep him in the dark → er darf nichts davon wissen; to work in the dark → im Dunkeln tappen

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dark:

dark age

n (= era) → dunkles Zeitalter; the Dark Ages → das frühe Mittelalter; to be living in the darks (pej) → im finstersten Mittelalter leben

dark chocolate

n → Zartbitterschokolade f

dark-complexioned

adj → mit dunklem Teint

Dark Continent

n the dark → der Schwarze Erdteil

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dark:

dark-eyed

adj → dunkeläugig

dark glasses

pl → Sonnenbrille f; (of blind person) → dunkle Brille

dark horse

n (fig) → stilles Wasser; (= unexpected winner) → unbekannte Größe

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dark:

darkroom

n (Phot) → Dunkelkammer f

dark-skinned

adj → dunkelhäutig

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dark [dɑːk]

1. adj (-er (comp) (-est (superl)))

a. (lacking light, room, night) → scuro/a, buio/a
it is/is getting dark → è/si sta facendo buio
the dark side of the moon → l'altra faccia della luna

b. (in colour) → scuro/a; (complexion, hair, colour) → scuro/a, bruno/a
dark blue/red → blu/rosso scuro inv
dark brown hair → capelli castano scuro
dark chocolate → cioccolata amara

c. (fig) (sad, gloomy) → nero/a, tetro/a, cupo/a; (sinister, secret, plan, threat) → oscuro/a
to keep sth dark → non far parola di qc

2. n the dark → il buio, l'oscurità
in the dark → al buio
before dark → prima che faccia (or facesse) buio
after dark → col buio, a notte fatta
until dark → fino a sera
to be in the dark about sth (fig) → essere all'oscuro di qc

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dark

adj dark [daːk]

1 without light a dark room; It's getting dark; the dark (= not cheerful) side. donker مُظْلِم тъмен tmavý mørk dunkel σκοτεινός oscuro pime تاریک pimeä noir אָפֵל, חָשוּך अंधेरा mračan, taman sötét gelap myrkur, dimmur scuro 暗い 어두운 tamsus tumšs gelap donker mørk ciemny escuro întunecat тёмный tmavý temen mračan mörk มืด karanlık 黑暗的 темний تاریک tối tăm 黑暗的

2 blackish or closer to black than white a dark red colour; a dark (= not very white or fair) complexion; Her hair is dark. donker داكِن، غامِق тъмен tmavý mørk; mørke- dunkel σκούρος oscuro tume, must تیره tumma foncé כֵּהֶה गहरा taman sötét kehitaman dökkur scuro 黒い 어두운 색의 tamsus tumšs; patumšs hitam donker mørk ciemny escuro închis (la culoare) тёмный;смуглый tmavý temen taman mörk คล้ำ esmer 黑色的，深色的 смуглявий گہرا ، سیاح ، سانولا đen đen 黑色的，深色的

3 evil and usually secret dark deeds; a dark secret. donker شِرّير، سِرّي، مُبْهَم тъмен zlý, temný dyster dunkel καταχθόνιος misterioso, oscuro, secreto tume خبیث؛ پنهان paha noir אָפֵל וִּמסתוֹרִי गुप्त mračan, skriven sötét jahat leynilegur, dulinn oscuro 腹黒い 악하고 비밀스런 juodas, baisus (par nodomu u.tml.) ļauns; slepens rahsia duister mørk, dyster; hemmelig ciemny sinistro tenebros тёмный zlovestný temen mračan mörk, dunkel ชั่วร้าย kötü 隱秘的 нечистий بد ، خفیہ ám muội 隐秘的

n

absence of light in the dark; afraid of the dark; He never goes out after dark; We are in the dark (= we have no knowledge) about what is happening. donker, donkerte ظُلْمَه، ظَلام тъмнина tma, setmění; nevědomost mørke; mørkets frembrud; uvidenhed die Dunkelheit σκοτάδι oscuridad pime(dus) تاریکی pimeys noir חוֹשֶׁך अंधेरा mrak, tama sötétség gelap myrkur oscurità, buio 暗がり 어둠 tamsa tumsa; neziņa gelap donker mørke ciemność escuro întuneric темнота; неведение tma, nevedomosť tema mrak mörker ช่วงเวลาดึก; ความมืด karanlık 黑暗 темрява, темнота اندھیرا sự tối tăm 黑暗

v darken

to make or become dark or darker. verdonker يُظْلِم، يُصْبِحُ داكِنا потъмнявам ztmavnout, zatemnit blive mørk; formørke; gøre mørk verdunkeln σκοτεινιάζω oscurecer pimendama, pimenema تاریک شدن؛ تیره شدن pimentää s'assombrir להאפיל, להחשיך काला हो जाना zatamniti, zamračiti elsötétít; elsötétül menggelapkan dekkja; verða dimmur oscurarsi 暗くする 어둡게 하다 tamsėti, tamsinti satumst; aptumšot menggelapkan verdonkeren, donkerder worden mørkne, formørke ściemniać, ciemnieć escurecer a se întuneca затемнять; темнеть stmievať sa, zachmúriť sa zatemniti zamračiti mörkna, förmörkas, mörklägga ทำให้มืด karar(t)mak 使變暗 темніти; затемнювати سیاہ کرنا ، سیاہ ہو جانا làm cho cái gì trở thành tối 使变暗

n darkness

the state of being dark. donker, donkerte ظُلْمَه، ظَلام тъмнина tma, temnota mørke die Dunkelheit σκοτεινιά oscuridad pimedus تاریکی pimeys obscurité אֲפֵילָה, חֲשֵיכָה अंधकार, धुंधलापन, अज्ञानता tama, tmina sötétség kegelapan dimma, myrkur oscurità やみ 어두움 tamsa tumsa; neziņa kegelapan donker mørke, mørkhet ciemność escuridão întu­neric, obscuritate темнота tma tema zamračenost mörker ความมืด karanlık 黑暗 темнота; темрява تاریکی tình trạng tối 黑暗

keep it dark

to keep something a secret They're engaged to be married but they want to keep it dark. iets geheim hou يُبقي الشّيء سِرا пазя в тайна chovat v tajnosti holde hemmeligt etwas geheimhalten κρατώ κτ. μυστικό mantener algo en secreto asja salajas hoidma محرمانه نگه داشتن pitää salassa garder secret לַתֵת לְמִישֶהוּ לְגָשֵש בַּאֲפֵילָה गहरे अधंरे में, अज्ञानतावश čuvati tajnu eltitkol merahasiakan halda leyndu tenere qualcosa segreto 秘密にする 비밀로 하다 laikyti paslaptyje turēt kaut ko slepenībā rahsia geheim houden holde hemmelig trzymać w tajemnicy agir às escondidas a ţine secret держать в секрете (za)tajiť skrivati tajiti hålla det hemligt ลึกลับ sır olarak saklamak 保守秘密 тримати в секреті پوشیدہ رکھنا giữ bí mật 保守秘密

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dark → ظلام, مظلم tma, tmavý mørk Dunkel σκοτάδι, σκοτεινός oscuridad, oscuro pimeä, tumma noir, sombre mračan, mrak buio, scuro 暗い, 闇 어두운, 어둠 donker, donkere plaats mørk, mørke ciemność, ciemny escuro темный, тьма mörk, mörker ความมืด, มืด karanlık bóng tối, tối tăm 黑暗, 黑暗的