benight
Catch in nightfall
To benight is to overtake with darkness or night, though the word appears almost exclusively as the adjective benighted.
A benighted traveler has been caught by nightfall.
More commonly, benighted describes intellectual or moral darkness—ignorance, backwardness, or lack of enlightenment: a benighted era, benighted attitudes toward women.
The word carries a tone of pity or condescension.
To confuse or obscure
- cloudAtmospheric water vapor mass
- confuseCause mental disorientation
- obfuscateMake unclear intentionally
- veilFabric that obscures
shroud · muddle · perplex · conceal · mask · blur · eclipse · mystify
Dimming after sundown
- twilightLight after sunset
- gloamingPoetic term for dusk
- evenfallOnset of night
- eventideArchaic term for dusk
dimness · gloom · murk · shade · shadow · shroud · obscurity · tenebrous
Lacking awareness or knowledge
- uninformedLacking necessary knowledge
- uneducatedLacking formal instruction
- unawareLacking knowledge of something
- illiteracyInability to read
nescience · naivety · inexperience · unknowing · unschooled · untutored · clueless · misinformed
Practice of supernatural magic
- sorceryPractice of dark magic
- omenProphetic indicator
- charmAttractive personal quality
- amuletWorn protective token
divination · hex · incantation · ritual · taboo · talisman · folklore · superstitious
befog
To confuse or obscure
- cloudAtmospheric water vapor mass
- confuseCause mental disorientation
- obfuscateMake unclear intentionally
veil · shroud · muddle · perplex · conceal · mask · blur · eclipse · mystify · bewilder
dusk
Dimming after sundown
eventide · dimness · gloom · murk · shade · shadow · shroud · obscurity · tenebrous · crepuscular
unenlightened
Lacking awareness or knowledge
- uninformedLacking necessary knowledge
- uneducatedLacking formal instruction
- unawareLacking knowledge of something
illiteracy · nescience · naivety · inexperience · unknowing · unschooled · untutored · clueless · misinformed · uninstructed
witchcraft
Practice of supernatural magic
amulet · divination · hex · incantation · ritual · taboo · talisman · folklore · superstitious · medieval