dimness

adjective

not bright; obscure from lack of light or emitted light: a dim room; a dim flashlight.

not seen clearly or in detail; indistinct: a dim object in the distance.

not clear to the mind; vague: a dim idea.

not brilliant; dull in luster: a dim color.

not clear or distinct to the senses; faint: a dim sound.

not seeing clearly: eyes dim with tears.

tending to be unfavorable; not likely to happen, succeed, be favorable, etc.: a dim chance of winning.

not understanding clearly.

rather stupid; dim-witted.

verb (used with object)

10.

to make dim or dimmer.

11.

to switch (the headlights of a vehicle) from the high to the low beam.

00:10

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a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

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verb (used without object)

12.

to become or grow dim or dimmer.

Verb phrases

13.

dim out, (in wartime) to reduce the night illumination of (a city, ship, etc.) to make it less visible from the air or sea, as a protection from enemy aircraft or ships.

Idioms

14.

take a dim view of, to regard with disapproval, skepticism, or dismay: Her mother takes a dim view of her choice of friends.

Origin:
before 1000; Middle English, Old English dim(me), cognate with Old Frisian dim, Old Norse dimmr

Related forms

dim·ly, adverb

dim·ma·ble, adjective

dim·ness, noun

un·dim, adjective

un·dim·ly, adverb

un·dimmed, adjective

Synonyms
1. See dark. 3. unclear, faint, indefinite, indistinct, fuzzy, hazy. 10. darken, cloud. 12. dull, fade.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To dimness

Collins

World English Dictionary

dim (dɪm)

—*adj* , dimmer, dimmest
1.	badly illuminated: a dim room
2.	not clearly seen; indistinct; faint: a dim shape
3.	having weak or indistinct vision: eyes dim with tears
4.	lacking in understanding; mentally dull
5.	not clear in the mind; obscure: a dim memory
6.	lacking in brilliance, brightness, or lustre: a dim colour
7.	tending to be unfavourable; gloomy or disapproving (esp in the phrase take a dim view)

—vb , dimmer, dimmest, dims, dimming, dimmed
8.	to become or cause to become dim
9.	(tr) to cause to seem less bright, as by comparison
10.	(US), (Canadian) (tr) Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): dip to switch (car headlights) from the main to the lower beam

[Old English dimm; related to Old Norse dimmr gloomy, dark]

'dimly

—*adv*

'dimness

—n

dim (dɪm)

—*adj* , dimmer, dimmest
1.	badly illuminated: a dim room
2.	not clearly seen; indistinct; faint: a dim shape
3.	having weak or indistinct vision: eyes dim with tears
4.	lacking in understanding; mentally dull
5.	not clear in the mind; obscure: a dim memory
6.	lacking in brilliance, brightness, or lustre: a dim colour
7.	tending to be unfavourable; gloomy or disapproving (esp in the phrase take a dim view)

—vb , dimmer, dimmest, dims, dimming, dimmed
8.	to become or cause to become dim
9.	(tr) to cause to seem less bright, as by comparison
10.	(US), (Canadian) (tr) Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): dip to switch (car headlights) from the main to the lower beam

[Old English dimm; related to Old Norse dimmr gloomy, dark]

'dimly

—*adv*

'dimness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

dim

O.E. dimm "dark, gloomy, obscure," from P.Gmc. *dimbaz. Not known outside Germanic. Slang sense of "stupid" is from 1892. The verb was also in O.E. Related: Dimly; dimmed.

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

dim. abbr.
Latin dimidius (half)

Slang Dictionary

dim definition

n.
the evening; the night. (Streets.) : Where'll you be this dim?

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Matching Quote

"If it is no exaggeration to say that Deerfield is not so much a town as the ghost of a town, its dimness almost transparent, its quiet almost a cessation, it is essential to add that it is probably quite the most beautiful ghost of its kind, and with the deepest poetic and historic significance to be found in America.... It is, and will probably always remain, the perfect and beautiful statement of the tragic and creative moment when one civilization is destroyed by another. And the wonderful ghostliness of this mile-long 'Street' of grave and ancient houses, the strange air of unreality which hangs over it, arises precisely from the fact that the little town is really saying two things at once. It is saying, 'I dared to be beautiful, even in the shadow of the wilderness'; but it is also saying, 'And the wilderness haunts me, the ghosts of a slain race are in my doorways and clapboards, like a kind of death.'"

-for the State of Massachusetts

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Related Words

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dark gloom