Pronunciations (2)
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/dɪm/
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dɪm
Adjective
Not bright or colorful.
- Examples
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The lighting was too dim for me to make out his facial features.
that sustaining Love / Which, through the web of being blindly wove / By man and beast and earth and air and sea, / Burns bright or dim
Not smart or intelligent.
Usage- Colloquial
- Examples
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He may be a bit dim, but he's not entirely stupid.
Indistinct, hazy or unclear.
- Examples
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His vision grew dimmer as he aged.
Disapproving, unfavorable: rarely used outside the phrase take a dim view of.
Noun
Dimness.
Usage- Archaic
- Uncountable
- Examples
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All about me the Red Weed clambered among the ruins, writhing to get above me in the dim. Night, the Mother of Fear and Mystery, was coming upon me.
Verb
To make something less bright.
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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He dimmed the lights and put on soft music.
To become darker.
Usage- Intransitive
- Examples
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The lights dimmed briefly when the air conditioning was turned on.
To render dim, obscure, or dark; to make less bright or distinct.
- Examples
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a king among his courtiers,[…] who out to dim the lustre of all his attendants
Now ſet the ſun, and twilight dimm'd the ways, […]
To deprive of distinct vision; to hinder from seeing clearly, either by dazzling or clouding the eyes; to darken the senses or understanding of.
- Examples
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And with our Sun-bright armour as we march, Weel chaſe the Starrs from heauen, and dim their eies That ſtand and muſe at our admyred armes.
Her starry eyes were dimm'd with streaming tears.
To diminish, dull, or curtail.
Usage- Figurative
- Examples
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All these setbacks had started to dim the hopes of the students.
Nothing will dim their spirit of resilience.
More examples (1)
A glut might dim the outlook for grain futures.
Adjective
lacking in light; not bright or harsh
- Synonyms
- Examples
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a dim light beside the bed
subdued lights and soft music
lacking clarity or distinctness
- Examples
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a dim figure in the distance
only a faint recollection
More examples (3)
shadowy figures in the gloom
saw a vague outline of a building through the fog
a few wispy memories of childhood
made dim or less bright
- Synonyms
- Examples
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the dimmed houselights brought a hush of anticipation
dimmed headlights
More examples (1)
we like dimmed lights when we have dinner
offering little or no hope
- Examples
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the future looked black
prospects were bleak
More examples (1)
took a dim view of things
slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity
- Examples
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so dense he never understands anything I say to him
never met anyone quite so dim
More examples (3)
dumb officials make some really dumb decisions
he was either normally stupid or being deliberately obtuse
worked with the slow students
Verb
switch (a car's headlights) from a higher to a lower beam
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
become dim or lusterless
- Broader terms
- Examples
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the lights dimmed and the curtain rose
make dim or lusterless
- Broader terms
- Examples
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Time had dimmed the silver
make dim by comparison or conceal
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
become vague or indistinct
- Broader terms
- Examples
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The distinction between the two theories blurred