darkest
darkest — 名詞
1. the state of a place where there is barely enough light to make out any shapes o
漆黑；黑暗
光線極少的狀態
the state of a place where there is barely enough light to make out any shapes or see things clearly
Theo could not see his own hand in the darkest of the old basement.
Theo 在舊地下室最深處的漆黑中看不見自己的手。
the darkest of [place] — superlative noun phrase for an unlit space
A single match briefly lit the darkest before the flame went out.
一根火柴短暫照亮了最黑暗的地方，然後火焰就熄滅了。
The darkest of the cave was so complete that Chidi felt he had gone blind.
洞穴深處的漆黑如此徹底，Chidi 覺得自己好像失明了一樣。
Even the darkest corner of the abandoned house felt less scary with Talia by his side.
Talia 在身邊的時候，就連那棟廢棄房屋裡最黑暗的角落也沒那麼可怕。
Mayumi searched the darkest of the attic but found nothing except old papers.
Mayumi 搜遍了閣樓最黑暗的位置，除了舊報紙什麼也沒找到。
- light
the presence of illumination that makes things visible
- brightness
a high level of light, the opposite of darkness
文法句型
the darkest of [place/area]
in the darkest
用法筆記
This sense always uses 'the' before 'darkest' (never 'a darkest'). The pattern 'the darkest of + place' is the most common structure. The noun is uncountable, so it takes a singular verb.
常見錯誤
2. the time when the sun is down and the sky stays dark, from late evening through
夜晚；天黑後
日落之後的時間
the time when the sun is down and the sky stays dark, from late evening through the middle of the night until early morning
Noa always finished delivering the newspapers before the darkest, when the streets grew quiet and empty.
Noa 總是在天黑之前送完報紙，那時街道變得安靜而空曠。
before the darkest — time-marker meaning 'before nightfall'
The darkest of the night brought a deep cold to the desert camp.
深夜最黑暗的時候，沙漠營地迎來了刺骨的寒意。
Farmers in this region begin their work before the darkest lifts each morning.
這個地區的農夫每天清晨在天黑散去之前就開始工作了。
Salma waited until the darkest to leave the house and walk to the station.
Salma 一直等到天黑之後才離開家，步行前往車站。
The darkest of winter is long here, with barely six hours of daylight.
這裡冬天的黑夜很長，日照時間不到六個小時。
文法句型
the darkest of [season/period]
in/at the darkest
before/after the darkest
用法筆記
Distinguish this sense from sense 1 (ABSENCE OF LIGHT): sense 1 refers to the physical condition of an unlit space, while this sense refers to a specific time period — the hours after sunset. Common time expressions are 'before the darkest', 'after the darkest', and 'the darkest of [season]'.
常見錯誤
darkest — 形容詞
- darkestpositive
- more darkestcomparative
- most darkestsuperlative
1. receiving almost no light at all, making it hard or impossible to see things aro
黑暗的
光線不足的；暗的
receiving almost no light at all, making it hard or impossible to see things around you — like a basement without windows or a path in the woods on a moonless night.
The room was so dark that Diya could not see her own hands.
房間太暗了，Diya 連自己的手都看不見。
be + dark + so...that clause
Takeshi turned on a lamp because the study corner was too dark to read.
Takeshi 打開了一盞小燈，因為書房角落暗得沒辦法看書。
A dark narrow alley ran between the old bakery and the apartment building.
一條狹窄的暗巷位於老麵包店和公寓大樓之間。
The forest path is dark and narrow, so Andrés always carries a torch when he walks home.
森林小道又暗又窄，Andrés 回家時總是隨身攜帶手電筒。
文法句型
dark + noun
be + dark
常見錯誤
2. closer in shade to black than to white — used for colours, hair, eyes, or skin t
深色的
顏色接近黑色的
closer in shade to black than to white — used for colours, hair, eyes, or skin that carry little lightness.
Minh wore a dark green sweater that matched the pine trees behind the house.
Minh 穿了一件深綠色的毛衣，和屋後的松樹很搭配。
dark + colour word: dark green
Lisa has dark brown eyes that look almost black in bright sunlight.
Lisa 有一雙深棕色的眼睛，在明亮的陽光下幾乎看起來是黑色的。
The kitchen walls were painted a dark blue that made the white cabinets stand out.
廚房的牆壁漆成了深藍色，讓白色櫥櫃更加顯眼。
People with fair skin often choose a dark lipstick for evening events.
膚色較白的人經常在晚間場合選用深色口紅。
Vinícius picked a dark wooden table for the dining area because it hides stains well.
Vinícius 為餐廳選了一張深色木桌，因為它不容易看到汙漬。
- light
pale in colour; opposite of dark when describing shades
文法句型
dark + colour word
dark + noun (hair/eyes/skin)
用法筆記
When describing colour, 'dark' usually precedes another colour word (dark blue, dark red) rather than standing alone.
常見錯誤
3. filled with sadness or despair, with no sense that things will get better — like
陰暗的
悲傷且沒有希望的
filled with sadness or despair, with no sense that things will get better — like a person going through a very hard time in life.
After losing his job and home in the same month, Leo went through a dark period.
在同一月內失業又失去住處之後，Leo 經歷了一段黑暗的時期。
collocation: dark period
Salma's novel paints a dark picture of life in a refugee camp during the war.
Salma 的小說描繪了戰時難民營生活的陰暗現實。
The mood inside the hospital waiting room was dark and tense as families waited for news.
醫院候診室裡的氣氛陰暗而緊繃，家屬們都在等候消息。
Those were the darkest days of Arjun's childhood, but his grandmother's stories gave him hope.
那是 Arjun 童年中最黑暗的日子，幸好奶奶的故事給了他希望。
文法句型
dark + period/time noun
be + dark + preposition
用法筆記
This sense is often used with time-related nouns (days, period, moment, phase) to describe a difficult stretch in someone's life or in history.
4. describes the tone of a book, film, play, or joke that focuses on painful, frigh
陰沉的
題材悲傷嚴肅的
describes the tone of a book, film, play, or joke that focuses on painful, frightening, or serious subject matter — as opposed to light entertainment that avoids difficult topics.
Mathieu enjoys dark comedies where the humour comes from serious topics like illness or death.
Mathieu 喜歡那種從疾病或死亡等嚴肅話題中製造笑料的黑色喜劇。
collocation: dark comedy / dark humour
The director is known for her dark films about family secrets and personal betrayal.
這位導演以探討家庭秘密與個人背叛的陰沉電影聞名。
Adisa wrote a dark fantasy novel set in a world where children never grow up.
Adisa 寫了一部黑暗奇幻小說，背景是一個孩子永遠不會長大的世界。
Some viewers could not finish the series because the story became too dark for their taste.
有些觀眾因為故事變得過於陰沉而無法看完這部影集。
- light
cheerful and entertaining; a light comedy makes you laugh without discomfort
文法句型
dark + art/literature noun
dark + humour noun
用法筆記
This sense is primarily used for creative works and their tone. It describes the SUBJECT of the work itself, not the audience's emotional reaction (which is covered by sense 3).
5. morally bad or frighteningly wicked — used about people, spirits, magical powers
邪惡的
邪惡或構成威脅的
morally bad or frighteningly wicked — used about people, spirits, magical powers, or the side of a person that wants to hurt others.
In the story, a dark wizard tries to control the whole kingdom with black magic.
故事裡，一位黑暗巫師企圖用黑魔法控制整個王國。
attributive: dark + agent noun (wizard)
William believed that every person has both a light and a dark side inside them.
William 相信每個人內心都有光明與黑暗的一面。
The villagers feared the dark figure at the edge of the forest each night.
村民們害怕每晚出現在森林邊緣的那個黑色人影。
Ilan refused to join the corrupt deal because he sensed something dark behind the offer.
Ilan 拒絕參與那筆腐敗交易，因為他感覺那個提議背後有一股邪惡的氣息。
文法句型
dark + force/noun
dark + side/soul
be + dark (of a person)
用法筆記
This sense often appears in fantasy, mythology, and moral discussions. Distinguish from sense 3 (SAD AND HOPELESS): a 'dark moment' is sad; a 'dark soul' is evil.
6. kept hidden from others, especially because it involves something shameful, ille
隱密的
不為人知或隱藏的
kept hidden from others, especially because it involves something shameful, illegal, or private that a person does not want discovered.
The politician's dark past caught up with him when old documents were made public.
那位政治人物的黑暗過去在舊文件曝光後找上門來了。
collocation: dark past / dark secret
Every family seems to have a few dark secrets that nobody talks about at dinner.
每個家庭似乎都有一些餐桌上一提到就閉口的隱密秘密。
The journalist spent years uncovering the dark dealings of the construction company.
那位記者花了多年時間揭發這家建設公司的暗盤交易。
Diya discovered a dark corner of the city where stolen goods were traded after midnight.
Diya 發現了城市中一個隱密的角落，午夜後有人在這裡交易贓物。
- open
not concealed; available for everyone to see
文法句型
dark + secret/noun
用法筆記
This sense always implies concealment with negative connotations (shame, crime, dishonesty). Unlike sense 5 (EVIL), the thing itself may not be evil — it is the secrecy that defines this sense.
7. describes a person, group, or era that has little education or understanding of
無知的
缺乏知識或文化素養的
describes a person, group, or era that has little education or understanding of the wider world — for instance, a time when few people could read and most new ideas never reached them.
Before books became widely available, even wealthy people lived in a dark age of superstition and ignorance.
在書籍普及之前，連富人都生活在迷信與無知的蒙昧時代。
collocation: dark age — a period of ignorance
The explorers described the remote village as a dark place where no one had heard of modern medicine.
探險家描述那個偏遠村莊是個無知的地方，那裡的人從未聽過現代醫學。
collocation: dark place — lacking knowledge or modern ideas
Ziad's textbook described the post-empire era as a dark age when few could read and cities shrank.
Ziad 的教科書將帝國崩潰後的時代描述為一個蒙昧時期，當時幾乎沒有人能閱讀，城市也縮小了。
The novel portrays the early Middle Ages as a dark era when scientific thinking was almost unknown.
這部小說將中世紀早期描繪成科學思想幾乎不為人知的蒙昧時代。
- ignorant
more common in everyday speech; 'dark' is more literary or historical
- unenlightened
formal; emphasises lack of cultural or intellectual development
- backward
often has a negative, dismissive tone about a society or region
- enlightened
having knowledge and understanding gained through education
- educated
general term for having received schooling or training
用法筆記
Often used in the fixed phrases 'dark age(s)' and 'dark era' to describe a historical period of intellectual stagnation.
常見錯誤
8. describes speech or writing that is hard to follow because its meaning is not cl
晦澀的
難以理解或意義不明的
describes speech or writing that is hard to follow because its meaning is not clearly expressed or it refers to little-known subjects — for example, a dense academic paper that assumes specialist knowledge.
Scholars have debated the dark passage in the ancient poem for centuries without agreeing on its meaning.
學者們數百年來一直爭論那首古詩中晦澀的段落，卻從未就其含義達成共識。
collocation: dark passage — unclear or hard-to-understand text
The philosopher's later writings are dark and puzzling, filled with references no one can identify.
那位哲學家的晚期著作晦澀難懂，充滿了無人能辨識的典故。
predicative: be dark and puzzling — describing unclear writing
The poem uses a dark style that hides its true meaning behind layers of old-fashioned words.
那首詩採用晦澀的風格，用大量古老的詞彙層層掩蓋其真實含義。
Roya's grandmother told her a folk tale whose dark meaning she only understood years later.
Roya 的祖母給她講了一個民間故事，她多年後才明白其中晦澀的寓意。
The old legend contains a dark prophecy that has been interpreted in many different ways.
那個古老傳說包含一則晦澀的預言，數百年來人們對其有多種不同的解釋。
- clear
easy to understand
- straightforward
simple and not complicated
用法筆記
This sense is formal and primarily describes writing, speech, or explanations. It is rarely used for simple everyday confusion.
常見錯誤
9. describes a theatre, cinema, or performance venue that is not operating or open
公休的
劇院當日不對外開放的
describes a theatre, cinema, or performance venue that is not operating or open to the public on a particular day or for a period of time.
The National Theatre is dark on Mondays, so the cast has the day off to rest.
國家劇院每週一公休，劇組演員們得以休息一天。
collocation: theatre is dark — closed for performances
All Broadway theatres will go dark for two weeks while the musicians' union negotiates a new contract.
百老匯所有劇院將暫停演出兩週，等待音樂家工會協商新合約。
phrasal collocation: go dark — stop performances entirely
Manuela checked the cinema website and saw that it was dark for renovations until September.
Manuela 查了電影院網站，發現它因整修而暫停營業到九月。
The old playhouse stayed dark for three years before a community group raised money to reopen it.
這家老戲院停演了三年，直到社區團體募資讓它重新開幕。
- open
offering performances and welcoming the public
用法筆記
Primarily used in the entertainment industry (theatres, cinemas, concert halls). 'Go dark' is the most common fixed expression. Not used for shops or offices.