dim
adjective · verb
Simple meaning
Not bright or colorful.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
dimIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdɪm
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.
adjective
Not bright or colorful.
Indistinct, hazy or unclear.
Disapproving, unfavorable: rarely used outside the phrase take a dim view of.
colloquial
Not smart or intelligent.
verb
To render dim, obscure, or dark; to make less bright or distinct.
Become dim or lusterless
“The lights dimmed and the curtain rose.”
Become vague or indistinct
intransitive
To become darker.
To deprive of distinct vision; to hinder from seeing clearly, either by dazzling or clouding the eyes; to darken the senses or understanding of.
figurative
To diminish, dull, or curtail.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To render dim, obscure, or dark; to make less bright or distinct.
Used this way, dim is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Antonyms
Sense: to render dim or obscure or or dark
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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.