dim
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dim¹
- /dɪm/
Rhymes with -ɪm
Where it comes from
From Middle English dim, dym, from Old English dim, dimm (“dim, dark, gloomy; wretched, grievous, sad, unhappy”), from Proto-West Germanic *dimm, from Proto-Germanic *dimmaz (“dark”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰem- (“to whisk, smoke; obscure”). Compare Faroese dimmur (“dark”), Icelandic dimmur (“dark”) and dimma (“darkness”).
adjective dimmer · dimmest
- Not bright or colorful. The lighting was too dim for me to make out his facial features.
-
Not smart or intelligent.
He may be a bit dim, but he's not entirely stupid.
Similar: addlebrained, addlepated, airheaded, bee-brained, beef-witted, soft, beefheaded, beetle-headed, birdbrained, blockheaded, Boeotian, boneheaded
-
Indistinct, hazy or unclear.
His vision grew dimmer as he aged.
Similar: dim, fuzzy, distant, hazy, ill-defined, ill-marked, indefinite, indistinct, indistinguishable, muzzy, obscure, undefined
-
Disapproving, unfavorable: rarely used outside the phrase take a dim view of.
Similar: deprecative, improbatory, reprobative, reprobatory
Similar: dusk, bland, colourless, dim, dingy, dull, faint, lackluster, leaden, muddy, sad, sober, uncolorful, unholiday, wan · Opposite: bright, colored, multicolored
noun
- Dimness. 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 dims · dimming · dimmed
- To make something less bright. He dimmed the lights and put on soft music.
- To become darker. The lights dimmed briefly when the air conditioning was turned on.
- To render dim, obscure, or dark; to make less bright or distinct. a king among his courtiers,[…] who out to dim the lustre of all his attendants
- To deprive of distinct vision; to hinder from seeing clearly, either by dazzling or clouding the eyes; to darken the senses or understanding of. 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.
- To diminish, dull, or curtail. All these setbacks had started to dim the hopes of the students.
dim²
- /dɪm/
Rhymes with -ɪm
adjective
- Clipping of diminished
Similar: bland, colourless, dim, dingy, dull, faint, lackluster, leaden, muddy, sad, sober, uncolorful, unholiday, wan · Opposite: bright, colored, multicolored
Dim³
Where it comes from
From Bashkir.
proper noun
- A male given name (from Bashkir Дим) .
- vocative singular of Ди́ма (Díma)(•colloquial)
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: vague, dumb, dull, hopeless, stupid, blind, faint, slow, bleak, slur, black, shadowy, darken, subdued, indistinct, dark
adjective
Similar: dusk, bland, colourless, dim, dingy, dull, faint, lackluster, leaden, muddy, sad, sober, uncolorful, unholiday, wan · Opposite: bright, colored, multicolored
adjective
Similar: bland, colourless, dim, dingy, dull, faint, lackluster, leaden, muddy, sad, sober, uncolorful, unholiday, wan · Opposite: bright, colored, multicolored
Translations
Every language
adj not bright, not colourful
| 日本語 | 薄暗い usugurai, 仄暗い honogurai |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 昏 hūn, 昏暗 hūn'àn, 暗淡 àndàn |
| Português | opaco, sombrio, mortiço |
| Français | tamisé, faible |
| Deutsch | dämmerig, schummrig |
| Italiano | debole, fioco, fioca, oscuro, oscura |
| Ελληνικά | σκοτεινός skoteinós, αχνός achnós, αμυδρός amydrós |
| Română | tern |
| Русский | ту́склый túsklyj |
| Tiếng Việt | mờ |
| עברית | כהה kehe |
adj not smart
| 中文 | 遲鈍 /迟钝 chídùn |
|---|---|
| Português | besta, obtuso |
| Français | bête |
| Deutsch | dämlich |
| Italiano | tonto, tonta |
| Ελληνικά | κουτός koutós |
| Русский | тупо́й tupój |
adj indistinct
| 日本語 | 朧気 oboroge |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 模糊 móhú |
| Português | indistinto |
| Français | flou, indistinct |
| Italiano | indistinto, indistinta |
| Ελληνικά | αμυδρός amydrós, δυσδιάκριτος dysdiákritos |
| Română | vag |
| Русский | сму́тный smútnyj, нея́сный nejásnyj |
verb to make something less bright
| Español | dimear |
|---|---|
| Português | ofuscar |
| Deutsch | verdunkeln, dimmen |
| Italiano | abbassare, affievolire, offuscare, annebbiare, annerire |
| Ελληνικά | θαμπώνω thampóno, θολώνω tholóno |
| Русский | затемнять zatemnjatʹ |
verb to become darker
| Português | escurecer |
|---|---|
| Italiano | affievolirsi |
| Русский | тускнеть tusknetʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | nhòa |
Talk about this word "dim." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/dim. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. dim. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/dim "dim." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/dim.Cite this
@misc{dim_2026,
title = {dim},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/dim},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
