darkling
In gathering darkness
Darkling means in darkness or growing dark—a literary word suggesting dimness, shadow, or twilight.
It appears most often as an adjective: a darkling plain, darkling woods.
The word carries a poetic, archaic quality, evoking mystery or foreboding.
Matthew Arnold's "darkling plain" in "Dover Beach" remains its most famous appearance in English literature.
Dimming after sundown
- gloamingPoetic term for dusk
- crepuscularRelating to dusk
- half-lightPartial illumination between extremes
- eventideArchaic term for dusk
nightfall · dimming · fading · vesper · sunset · evening · sundown · waning
Light blocked by object
obscure · unlit · lightless · blackness · pitch · shade · umbra · penumbra
Of or like verse
- gothicDark, mysterious aesthetic
- KeatsEnglish Romantic poet
- ShelleyEnglish Romantic surname
- ArnoldMasculine Germanic name
Hardy · macabre · elegy · archaic · Victorian · verse · imagery · allusion
Dark hours daily
- moonlightReflected solar radiance, nocturnal
- owlNocturnal feathered predator
- batFlying mammal or sports club
- mothNight-flying lepidopteran
beetle · stars · midnight · lunar · starry · nocturne · nightjar · firefly
Puzzling and obscure
- hiddenKept out of sight
- unseenNot perceived visually
- secretiveInclined to conceal
- concealedMade invisible deliberately
lurking · unknown · inscrutable · unfathomable · spectral · eerie · otherworldly · sinister
dusk
Dimming after sundown
- gloamingPoetic term for dusk
- crepuscularRelating to dusk
- half-lightPartial illumination between extremes
eventide · nightfall · dimming · fading · vesper · sunset · evening · sundown · waning · threshold
shadow
Light blocked by object
tenebrous · obscure · unlit · lightless · blackness · pitch · shade · umbra · penumbra · shrouded
poetic
Of or like verse
Arnold · Hardy · macabre · elegy · archaic · Victorian · verse · imagery · allusion · epithet
night
Dark hours daily
- moonlightReflected solar radiance, nocturnal
- owlNocturnal feathered predator
- batFlying mammal or sports club
moth · beetle · stars · midnight · lunar · starry · nocturne · nightjar · firefly · creature
enigmatic
Puzzling and obscure
concealed · lurking · unknown · inscrutable · unfathomable · spectral · eerie · otherworldly · sinister · foreboding
darklinglucid
Mentally sharp and comprehensible
enlightened · clear · illuminating · revealing · clarified
darklingdawning
First light emerging
brightening · hopeful · radiant · auroral · sun-drenched