How to Use blacken in a Sentence

blacken

verb
  • Fire had blackened the field.
  • The sky blackened as the storm approached.
  • Their false accusations failed to blacken my reputation.
  • Both of her eyes were blackened.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Sep. 2025
  • The doors were all blackened down.
    — Aaron Parseghian, CBS News, 8 Dec. 2025
  • Her boyfriend had hit her hard enough to blacken her eye.
    — Krista Kafer, Denver Post, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Just a touch of frost will blacken the leaves and kill stems.
    — Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 Dec. 2024
  • Fish and shrimp tacos can be grilled, blackened, or fried.
    — Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 6 Dec. 2025
  • The mosque is blackened and burned, the minaret split in two.
    — Kat Lonsdorf, NPR, 30 Apr. 2026
  • Day turned to night as thick, acrid clouds blackened the sky.
    — Robert Wyss, The Conversation, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Skip any skins that look moldy, blackened, or spoiled.
    — Cathy Cassata, Health, 24 Oct. 2025
  • The bronze had blackened and grown florid with green and white spots.
    — Dana Goodyear, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
  • The top edge of the wall that once held it up was jagged and blackened.
    — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 15 Nov. 2023
  • The benches are blackened with age, strewn with tools.
    — Tim Parks, New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2026
  • His toes were blackened and swollen and his hands also were swollen.
    — Trace Christenson, Detroit Free Press, 6 June 2017
  • Her right eye was blackened, and her tongue was between her lips.
    — NBC News, 17 Apr. 2018
  • My father’s thumb was huge and blackened.
    — Kate Crane, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Their blondish gray hair was blackened and matted from all the soot and ash.
    — Author: Robin Abcarian, Alaska Dispatch News, 13 Oct. 2017
  • Forests that are blackened are no less healthy than those that are verdant green.
    — Leah Sottile, Washington Post, 16 Feb. 2018
  • The husk will blacken, but don’t worry–that’s part of the process.
    — Roy Berendsohn and Bradley Ford, Popular Mechanics, 7 July 2020
  • Their hair is covered in dust and their bodies are blackened by the blast.
    — Rob Schmitz, NPR, 12 Nov. 2025
  • The way their skin blackened and blistered and melted off their bones.
    — vanityfair.com, 16 July 2017
  • Flames blackened the roof above the service center where the fire burned.
    — Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 May 2024
  • Hands blackened from picking through the rubble of what was left of his home camp.
    — Will Carless, USA TODAY, 12 Jan. 2025
  • Four months later, the hills around his home are still blackened and toxic.
    — Josh Rottenberg, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2025
  • The spices form a charred crust when seared in a hot skillet or on the grill, hence the name blackened.
    — Lynda Balslev, The Mercury News, 12 Feb. 2024
  • The leaves all browned and dropped off and the tips of branches have blackened and shriveled.
    — oregonlive, 25 Feb. 2023
  • Other times, his hands were tinged by the flames of the pits, and his clothes blackened with ash and soot.
    — Gabriel H. Sanchez, New York Times, 11 June 2024
  • Palm trees, their bark blackened and their fronds singed, tower above the wreckage.
    — Claire Fahy, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2025
  • The walls appear blackened with smoke and heat marks, and the glass of the windows smashed.
    — Zeena Saifi, CNN Money, 13 Nov. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'blacken.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: