black

31 synonyms and 1 antonym for black, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Adj — Having the darkest possible color; reflecting no light.

Synonyms

Everyday swaps

Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.

dark

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

raven

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

jet-black ebony coal-black atramental atramentous black as a dog's guts black as coal black as Newgate's knocker black as night black as the ace of spades black as thunder coal black ebon inky jetty nigrous obsidian pitch-dark pitch-black pitchy sable sabled lightlessness inkiness blackness Negroid melanise melanize blacken

Synonyms by Meaning

1. adj

Having the darkest possible color; reflecting no light.

“She wore a black dress to the funeral.”

jet-black ebony coal-black dark atramental atramentous black as a dog's guts black as coal black as Newgate's knocker black as night black as the ace of spades black as thunder coal black ebon inky jetty negro nigrous obsidian pitch-dark pitch-black pitchy raven sable sabled

Opposites

white

2. noun

The color of black; total absence of reflected light.

“The room was painted entirely in black.”

Negro lightlessness inkiness blackness Negroid

Opposites

white

3. verb

To make something black, or to refuse to handle goods or work as a form of industrial protest.

“The dockers blacked the shipment in support of the strike.”

melanise melanize blacken

How to use black

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

pitch black black coffee black market black humor

Etymology

From Old English blæc ("black, dark; also ink"), ultimately from a root meaning "burnt" — related to words for burning and scorching in several old languages.

Full origin of black →

Frequently asked questions

What does “black” mean?

The word “black” means having the darkest possible color; reflecting no light. In plain terms, the darkest color, or (capitalized) referring to Black people and their identity and culture.

How do you pronounce “black”?

“Black” is pronounced blak (/blæk/ in IPA).

How do you use “black” in a sentence?

Here is “black” used in a sentence: “She wore a black dress to the funeral.”

What is another word for “black”?

Words with a similar meaning to “black” include atramental, atramentous, black as a dog's guts, black as coal, black as Newgate's knocker and black as night.

What is the opposite of “black”?

The opposite of “black” — its antonyms — is white.

What part of speech is “black”?

Depending on how it is used, “black” can be an adjective, a noun and a verb.

Where does the word “black” come from?

The word “black” comes from Old English. From Old English blæc ("black, dark; also ink"), ultimately from a root meaning "burnt" — related to words for burning and scorching in several old languages.

Is “black” a common word?

“Black” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

Is black a color?

It depends on the field. In everyday language and in paint or printing, black is treated as a colour. In physics, black is the absence of visible light, since a black surface absorbs nearly all wavelengths and reflects none. So black is a colour in art and design, but technically 'no light' in science.

What is the opposite of black?

White is the opposite of black. Where black absorbs light and reflects none, white reflects nearly all of it, which is why the two sit at opposite ends of the greyscale. The pairing also carries figurative contrasts, such as dark and light or, in many expressions, bad and good.

What is the difference between 'black' and 'dark'?

Black is a single, exact colour — the darkest possible, reflecting no light. 'Dark' is a broader term meaning low in light or deep in shade, so any colour can be dark: dark blue, dark green, dark grey. All black things are dark, but not everything dark is black.

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white dark raven ebony atramentous lightlessness blacken sable jetty obsidian blackness inky

Nearby words

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