blacken

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ækən

Etymology

black +‎ -en

Verb

blacken (third-person singular simple present blackens, present participle blackening, simple past and past participle blackened)

1. To make black.
2. To make dirty.
3. To defame or sully.

   Malice delights to blacken the characters of prominent men. — Napoleon Bonaparte

4. To cook (meat or fish) by coating with pepper, etc., and quickly searing in a hot pan.
5. (intransitive)To become black.

   The sky blackened as the storm clouds rolled in.

Synonyms

• (make black): black, denigrate
• (make dirty): dirty, soil
• (defame): defame, denigrate, sully, taint, tarnish

Translations

make black

• Bulgarian: почерням (bg) (počernjam)
• Esperanto: nigrigi (eo)
• Finnish: mustata (fi)
• French: noircir (fr)
• Hebrew: השחיר (he) (hishkhír)

• Italian: annerire (it)
• Russian: чернить (ru) (černít') impf., зачернить (ru) (začernít') pf.
• Sumerian: salamu
• Swedish: svärta (sv)

make dirty

• Bulgarian: цапам (bg) (capam)
• French: souiller (fr)
• Italian: sporcare (it)
• Russian: пачкать (ru) (páčkat') impf., испачкать (ru) (ispáčkat') pf., запачкать (ru) (zapáčkat') pf.; марать (ru) (marát') impf., измарать (ru) (izmarát') pf., замарать (ru) (zmarát') pf.; загрязнять (ru) (zagrjaznját') impf., загрязнить (ru) (zagrjaznít') pf.

• Swedish: svärta

defame, sully

• Bulgarian: очерням (bg) (očernjam)
• Dutch: zwartmaken (nl)
• French: noircir (fr), salir (fr)

• Russian: чернить (ru) (černít') impf., очернять (ru) (očernját') impf., очернить (ru) (očernít') pf.
• Swedish: svärta ner

cook by coating with pepper and quickly searing

become black

• Bulgarian: почернявам (bg) (počernjavam)
• Esperanto: nigriĝi (eo)
• French: noircir (fr)

• Russian: чернеть (ru) (černét') impf., почернеть (ru) (počernét') pf.
• Swedish: svartna (sv)