darkling means in the dark; in obscurity. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 85 out of 100.
darkling is pronounced /ˈdɑː(ɹ)klɪŋ/.
Why “darkling” is a great word
DARKLING — [Adverb, Adjective, Noun] As an adverb: in the dark or obscurity; as an adjective: dark, growing dark, or obscure; as a noun: darkness or a creature of darkness. From Middle English derkelyng, from derk ("dark") + -lyng ("-ling, suffix denoting state, condition, or one belonging to"). Unlike "tenebrous," which describes a static, literary shadowiness, or "crepuscular," which is strictly tied to twilight, "darkling" is the very process of diminishment, an active inhabitation of gloom. It is a thrush singing unseen from a thicket at dusk, a path dissolving underfoot into mere suggestion, or the faint, warm rustle heard just beyond the circle of firelight—a word not for the absence of light, but for the profound unease of becoming lost within the encroaching unseen.
Etymology
From Middle English derkelyng. By surface analysis, dark + -ling.
adv
- In the dark; in obscurity.“So, out went the candle, and we were left darkling.”
adj
- Dark; growing dark; darkening.“She still pursued its flight, with all the speed / Her fainting strength had hitherto supplied: / What pathless wilds she crossed ! What forests darkling wide !”
- Obscure; taking place unseen, as if in the dark.
noun
- Darkness.“She carried some rugs for me through the shrubbery in the darkling. "They'll think we've gone mooning," she said, jerking her head at the household. "I wonder what they make of us – criminals."”
- A child of darkness; someone dark by nature or who has grown dark in character.
- A creature that lives in the dark.
- A demon.