DIMNESS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does dimness mean? 

• DIMNESS (noun)
  The noun DIMNESS has 3 senses:

1. the state of being poorly illuminated

2. the property of lights or sounds that lack brilliance or are reduced in intensity

3. the quality of being dim or lacking contrast

  Familiarity information: DIMNESS used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DIMNESS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The state of being poorly illuminated

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

dimness; duskiness

Hypernyms ("dimness" is a kind of...):

semidarkness (partial darkness)

Derivation:

dim (made dim or less bright)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The property of lights or sounds that lack brilliance or are reduced in intensity

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

dimness; subduedness

Hypernyms ("dimness" is a kind of...):

dullness (a lack of visual brightness)

Derivation:

dim (lacking in light; not bright or harsh)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The quality of being dim or lacking contrast

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

dimness; faintness

Hypernyms ("dimness" is a kind of...):

blurriness; fogginess; fuzziness; indistinctness; softness (the quality of being indistinct and without sharp outlines)

Derivation:

dim (lacking clarity or distinctness)

 Context examples 

Despite its proximity, because of its dimness Teegarden’s Star was not identified until 2003.

(Researchers find two new planets with masses similar to Earth’s near a small neighbouring star, University of Granada)

I dared not go below, I dared not leave the helm; so here all night I stayed, and in the dimness of the night I saw It—Him!

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

I contended with my inward dimness of vision, before which clouds yet rolled.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

The dimness of the light her candle emitted made her turn to it with alarm; but there was no danger of its sudden extinction; it had yet some hours to burn; and that she might not have any greater difficulty in distinguishing the writing than what its ancient date might occasion, she hastily snuffed it.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

It was three o'clock; the church bell tolled as I passed under the belfry: the charm of the hour lay in its approaching dimness, in the low-gliding and pale-beaming sun.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)