dusky means dimly lit, as at dusk (evening).
dusky is pronounced /ˈdʌs.ki/.
Why “dusky” is a great word
Somewhat dark in color or dim in light. From dusk (from Middle English dosc, meaning "dark, shadowy") + -y (adjective-forming suffix). First attested in 1542. Unlike "dim," which implies a deficiency or failure of illumination, or "swarthy," which connotes a rugged, weathered complexion, "dusky" describes a soft, inherent darkness of quality—the muted blue of distant hills at twilight, the shadowed plumage of a mourning dove, or the gentle dimming of a room as the last coal fades to ash. It is the color of time settling, not fading, tenderly held before the night.
adj
- Dimly lit, as at dusk (evening).e.g.“I like it when it is dusky, just before the street lights come on.”
- Having a shade of color that is rather dark.e.g.“The dusky rose was of a muted color, not clashing with any of the other colors.”
- Dark-skinned.e.g.“You have your lovers - dusky beaus / Not made of the poetic stuff / That sports an Apollonian nose, / And wears a sleek Byronic cuff.” — 1877, Henry Kendall, “Ode to a Black Gin”, in The Australian Town and Country Journal, page 24:
- Ashen; having a greyish skin coloration.e.g.“The patient was in shock and had a dusky skin tone.”
noun
- A dusky shark.
- A dusky dolphin.
- A dusky grouse.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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