dark matter
noun
Simple meaning
Matter which cannot be detected by its radiation but whose presence is inferred from gravitational effects.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
dahrkmaterSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdɑɹkmætɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
astronomyastrophysicsloosely
Matter which cannot be detected by its radiation but whose presence is inferred from gravitational effects.
particle physicscosmologystrictly
Matter which has mass but which does not readily interact with normal matter except through gravitational effects.
biologyinformal
Unclassified or poorly understood genetic material.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (astronomy, astrophysics, loosely) Matter which cannot be detected by its radiation but whose presence is inferred from gravitational effects.
Used this way, dark matter is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a scientific use: it names something precisely within a field of study, so it appears in research and teaching more than in conversation.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Science
- Academic writing
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.