50 Idioms for Darkness With Meanings & Sentences
Idioms for Darkness
1. In the dark
Meaning: Unaware or uninformed.
In a Sentence: I was completely in the dark about their surprise plans.
Other Ways to Say: Uninformed, unaware, clueless.
2. A shot in the dark
Meaning: A guess or attempt without much hope of success.
In a Sentence: Taking a guess at the answer was just a shot in the dark.
Other Ways to Say: Guess, speculation, random try.
3. Dark horse
Meaning: A person with hidden talents or abilities.
In a Sentence: Sarah turned out to be the dark horse of the talent show with her amazing singing skills.
Other Ways to Say: Underdog, surprise winner, hidden gem.
4. Pitch dark
Meaning: Completely dark without any light.
In a Sentence: It was pitch dark in the forest when the flashlight died.
Other Ways to Say: Jet-black, totally dark, no visibility.
5. Shadow of a doubt
Meaning: A small amount of uncertainty.
In a Sentence: There isn’t a shadow of a doubt he’s guilty.
Other Ways to Say: Slight doubt, tiny suspicion, minimal uncertainty.
6. Black out
Meaning: To lose consciousness or memory temporarily.
In a Sentence: I blacked out after hitting my head.
Other Ways to Say: Faint, pass out, lose consciousness.
7. Into the abyss
Meaning: Into a deep, dark, or unknown situation.
In a Sentence: He felt like he was falling into the abyss of depression.
Other Ways to Say: Downward spiral, deep despair, the unknown.
8. In a dark place
Meaning: In a state of emotional or mental struggle.
In a Sentence: After the breakup, she was in a dark place for months.
Other Ways to Say: Depressed, troubled, emotionally drained.
9. Lights out
Meaning: Time to sleep or death.
In a Sentence: For the soldiers, it’s lights out at 10 PM sharp.
Other Ways to Say: Bedtime, end of the day, final rest.
10. Black mood
Meaning: A very bad or depressed mood.
In a Sentence: He was in a black mood after the argument.
Other Ways to Say: Sour mood, bad temper, deep sadness.
11. Walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Meaning: To go through a very difficult or dangerous situation.
In a Sentence: Battling cancer felt like walking through the valley of the shadow of death.
Other Ways to Say: Endure hardship, face danger, survive crisis.
12. In the shadows
Meaning: Hidden or unnoticed.
In a Sentence: She worked in the shadows while others took credit.
Other Ways to Say: Behind the scenes, unnoticed, unseen.
13. As black as night
Meaning: Very dark or evil.
In a Sentence: His heart felt as black as night after the betrayal.
Other Ways to Say: Evil, dark-hearted, pitch-black.
14. Lost in the dark
Meaning: Confused or unsure.
In a Sentence: Without guidance, I felt lost in the dark.
Other Ways to Say: Uncertain, confused, without direction.
15. A dark cloud
Meaning: A looming threat or bad situation.
In a Sentence: The dark cloud of unemployment hung over the town.
Other Ways to Say: Ominous sign, bad omen, threat.
16. Darkness falls
Meaning: Nighttime is coming.
In a Sentence: As darkness falls, the forest comes alive with sounds.
Other Ways to Say: Night approaches, evening sets in, twilight comes.
17. Come to light
Meaning: Become known or revealed.
In a Sentence: The truth finally came to light during the trial.
Other Ways to Say: Reveal, disclose, uncover.
18. Cloak of darkness
Meaning: Hidden or secretive situation.
In a Sentence: The robbery happened under the cloak of darkness.
Other Ways to Say: Secretly, under cover, in secrecy.
19. Out of the darkness
Meaning: Emerging from a bad or difficult time.
In a Sentence: He finally came out of the darkness and started to heal.
Other Ways to Say: Recovered, healed, emerged from hardship.
20. Black comedy
Meaning: Comedy that treats serious or grim subjects humorously.
In a Sentence: The film’s black comedy made us laugh and cringe at the same time.
Other Ways to Say: Dark humor, morbid jokes, grim satire.
21. Keep in the dark
Meaning: To not inform someone.
In a Sentence: They kept me in the dark about the surprise party.
Other Ways to Say: Withhold information, not tell, keep secret.
22. Blackout poetry
Meaning: A type of poetry formed by blacking out words in a text.
In a Sentence: She created a powerful piece of blackout poetry from an old newspaper.
Other Ways to Say: Erasure poetry, found poetry.
23. Eyes adjust to the dark
Meaning: Getting used to difficulty over time.
In a Sentence: Eventually, her eyes adjusted to the dark reality of her new life.
Other Ways to Say: Adapt to pain, get used to hardship.
24. Dark times
Meaning: Difficult or troubling periods.
In a Sentence: The pandemic brought dark times for many families.
Other Ways to Say: Hardships, trials, gloomy period.
25. The dark side
Meaning: The evil or negative part of something.
In a Sentence: He let the dark side of ambition take over.
Other Ways to Say: Negative side, evil nature, bad influence.
26. Shadows of the past
Meaning: Bad memories or experiences from the past.
In a Sentence: She couldn’t escape the shadows of the past.
Other Ways to Say: Haunting memories, emotional baggage, past trauma.
27. A dark turn
Meaning: Sudden shift to something negative.
In a Sentence: The conversation took a dark turn quickly.
Other Ways to Say: Shifted negatively, became grim, soured.
28. Face the darkness
Meaning: Confront something frightening or painful.
In a Sentence: He had to face the darkness within himself.
Other Ways to Say: Confront fear, deal with trauma, face the truth.
29. Black sheep
Meaning: A person who is different or seen as bad in a group.
In a Sentence: He’s the black sheep of the family.
Other Ways to Say: Outcast, misfit, rebel.
30. Shadow of death
Meaning: Near death or great danger.
In a Sentence: The soldiers walked through the shadow of death daily.
Other Ways to Say: Mortal danger, life-threatening situation.
31. Live in the shadows
Meaning: To live secretly or out of public view.
In a Sentence: After testifying against the mob, he had to live in the shadows for his safety.
Other Ways to Say: Hide away, Stay under the radar.
32. Cloaked in darkness
Meaning: Covered or hidden in darkness.
In a Sentence: The forest trail was cloaked in darkness, making it hard to find our way.
Other Ways to Say: Enveloped in darkness, Shrouded in dark.
33. A dark period
Meaning: A difficult or sad time in someone’s life.
In a Sentence: Losing both parents was a dark period in his life.
Other Ways to Say: Rough patch, Troubled time.
34. Cast a shadow
Meaning: To cause gloom or sadness.
In a Sentence: The tragic news cast a shadow over the celebration.
Other Ways to Say: Spoil the mood, Bring gloom.
35. Black as pitch
Meaning: Completely dark.
In a Sentence: It was black as pitch outside, and we couldn’t see a thing.
Other Ways to Say: Pitch-dark, Jet black.
36. In the dark corners
Meaning: In secret or hidden places.
In a Sentence: Evil plans are often made in the dark corners of power.
Other Ways to Say: Behind closed doors, Secretly.
37. Blackout
Meaning: A loss of power or memory, or complete darkness.
In a Sentence: The entire city experienced a blackout during the storm.
Other Ways to Say: Power outage, Total darkness.
38. Go dark
Meaning: To stop communicating or become unreachable.
In a Sentence: The spy went dark after his cover was blown.
Other Ways to Say: Disappear, Cut off contact.
39. Shadow of a doubt
Meaning: The slightest uncertainty.
In a Sentence: He was guilty beyond the shadow of a doubt.
Other Ways to Say: Certainly, Without question.
40. A dark past
Meaning: A troubled or hidden history.
In a Sentence: The old mansion was said to have a dark past.
Other Ways to Say: Troubled background, Shady history.
41. A darkness fell
Meaning: A sudden shift to a sad or grim mood.
In a Sentence: A darkness fell over the room after the bad news.
Other Ways to Say: Silence descended, Mood shifted.
42. Dark turn
Meaning: When a situation becomes worse or more serious.
In a Sentence: The conversation took a dark turn when politics came up.
Other Ways to Say: Took a bad turn, Became grim.
43. Swallowed by darkness
Meaning: Completely surrounded or taken over by darkness.
In a Sentence: The sun set quickly, and the campsite was swallowed by darkness.
Other Ways to Say: Engulfed in dark, Covered by night.
44. The dark arts
Meaning: Refers to evil or forbidden knowledge.
In a Sentence: In legends, wizards who practiced the dark arts were feared.
Other Ways to Say: Black magic, Forbidden knowledge.
45. Keep someone in the dark
Meaning: To withhold information.
In a Sentence: They kept me in the dark about the surprise party.
Other Ways to Say: Not tell, Keep it secret.
46. A shadow of oneself
Meaning: A much weaker or sadder version of oneself.
In a Sentence: After the accident, he was a shadow of his former self.
Other Ways to Say: Not the same, Weakened version.
47. Cross to the dark side
Meaning: To turn evil or make morally wrong choices.
In a Sentence: The politician crossed to the dark side once he gained power.
Other Ways to Say: Turn corrupt, Choose evil.
48. A dark cloud
Meaning: A feeling or threat of trouble or sadness.
In a Sentence: A dark cloud hung over the office after the layoffs.
Other Ways to Say: Ominous mood, Gloom.
49. A shadow looms
Meaning: A sense of something bad approaching.
In a Sentence: As the deadline approached, a shadow loomed over the project.
Other Ways to Say: Something bad is coming, Danger nears.
50. Walk through darkness
Meaning: Go through a difficult or trying time.
In a Sentence: She had to walk through darkness before finding happiness again.
Other Ways to Say: Endure hardship, Struggle through pain.
