» black

Words people most associate with “black”:

  1. white,
  2. nigger,
  3. night,
  4. dark,
  5. cat

[via wordassociation.org]

Noun (7 meanings)

1. the quality or state of the achromatic color of least lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white).

black, blackness, inkiness

black is the opposite of:
  • white, whiteness (noun) - the quality or state of the achromatic color of greatest lightness (bearing the least resemblance to black)
black is a type of:
types of black:
black is derivationally related to:

2. total absence of light.

total darkness, lightlessness, blackness, pitch blackness, black

Examples:
  • “they fumbled around in total darkness”,
  • “in the black of night”
black is a type of:
black is derivationally related to:

3. British chemist who identified carbon dioxide and who formulated the concepts of specific heat and latent heat (1728-1799).

Black, Joseph Black

black is an instance of:
  • chemist (noun) - a scientist who specializes in chemistry

4. popular child actress of the 1930's (born in 1928).

Black, Shirley Temple Black, Shirley Temple

black is an instance of:

5. a person with dark skin who comes from Africa (or whose ancestors came from Africa).

Black, Black person, blackamoor, Negro, Negroid

black is a type of:
types of black:
  • Black man (noun) - a man who is Black
  • Black woman (noun) - a woman who is Black
  • Negress (noun) - a Black woman or girl
  • Tom, Uncle Tom (noun) - (ethnic slur) offensive and derogatory name for a Black man who is abjectly servile and deferential to Whites
  • colored person, colored (noun) - a United States term for Blacks that is now considered offensive
black is a member of:
Domain of synset - REGION:
  • Africa (noun) - the second largest continent
Domain of synset - USAGE:

6. (board games) the darker pieces.

black

black is the opposite of:
  • white (noun) - (board games) the lighter pieces
black is a type of:
  • man, piece (noun) - game equipment consisting of an object used in playing certain board games
Domain of synset - TOPIC:
  • checkers, draughts (noun) - a checkerboard game for two players who each have 12 pieces
  • chess, chess game (noun) - a board game for two players who move their 16 pieces according to specific rules

7. black clothing (worn as a sign of mourning).

black

Example:
  • “the widow wore black”
black is a type of:

Verb (1 meaning)

1. make or become black.

to blacken, melanize, melanise, nigrify, black

Examples:
  • “The smoke blackened the ceiling”,
  • “The ceiling blackened”
to black is the opposite of:
to black is a way to:
to black is derivationally related to:
  • black, blackness, inkiness (noun) - the quality or state of the achromatic color of least lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white)
  • melanin (noun) - insoluble pigments that account for the color of e.g. skin and scales and feathers

Adjective (14 meanings)

1. being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light.

black

Examples:
  • “black leather jackets”,
  • “as black as coal”,
  • “rich black soil”
black is the opposite of:
  • white (adjective) - being of the achromatic color of maximum lightness
black is an attribute of:
Derivationally related form:
  • black, blackness, inkiness (noun) - the quality or state of the achromatic color of least lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white)
see also:
  • dark (adjective) - (used of color) having a dark hue

2. of or belonging to a racial group having dark skin especially of sub-Saharan African origin; "a great people--a black people--...injected new meaning and dignity into the veins of civilization"- Martin Luther King Jr..

black

black is the opposite of:
  • white (adjective) - of or belonging to a racial group having light skin coloration
black is similar to:
  • African-American, Afro-American (adjective) - pertaining to or characteristic of Americans of African ancestry
  • colored, coloured, dark, dark-skinned, non-white (adjective) - having skin rich in melanin pigments
  • negro (adjective) - relating to or characteristic of or being a member of the traditional racial division of mankind having brown to black pigmentation and tightly curled hair
  • negroid (adjective) - characteristic of people traditionally classified as the Negro race

3. marked by anger or resentment or hostility.

black

Examples:
  • “black looks”,
  • “black words”
black is similar to:
  • angry (adjective) - feeling or showing anger

4. offering little or no hope; "the future looked black"; "prospects were bleak"; "Life in the Aran Islands has always been bleak and difficult"- J.M.Synge; "took a dim view of things".

black, bleak, dim

Derivationally related form:
black is similar to:
  • hopeless (adjective) - without hope because there seems to be no possibility of comfort or success

5. stemming from evil characteristics or forces; wicked or dishonorable; "black deeds"; "a black lie"; "his black heart has concocted yet another black deed"; "Darth Vader of the dark side"; "a dark purpose"; "dark undercurrents of ethnic hostility"; "the scheme of some sinister intelligence bent on punishing him"-Thomas Hardy.

black, dark, sinister

Derivationally related form:
black is similar to:
  • evil (adjective) - morally bad or wrong

6. (of events) having extremely unfortunate or dire consequences; bringing ruin; "the stock market crashed on Black Friday"; "a calamitous defeat"; "the battle was a disastrous end to a disastrous campaign"; "such doctrines, if true, would be absolutely fatal to my theory"- Charles Darwin; "it is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it"- Douglas MacArthur; "a fateful error".

black, calamitous, disastrous, fatal, fateful

Derivationally related form:
black is similar to:

7. (of the face) made black especially as with suffused blood.

black, blackened

Example:
  • “a face black with fury”
black is similar to:

8. extremely dark.

black, pitch-black, pitch-dark

Examples:
  • “a black moonless night”,
  • “through the pitch-black woods”,
  • “it was pitch-dark in the cellar”
Derivationally related form:
black is similar to:
  • dark (adjective) - devoid of or deficient in light or brightness

9. harshly ironic or sinister.

black, grim, mordant

Examples:
  • “black humor”,
  • “a grim joke”,
  • “grim laughter”,
  • “fun ranging from slapstick clowning ... to savage mordant wit”
Derivationally related form:
black is similar to:
  • sarcastic (adjective) - expressing or expressive of ridicule that wounds

10. (of intelligence operations) deliberately misleading.

black

Example:
  • “black propaganda”
black is similar to:
  • covert (adjective) - secret or hidden

11. distributed or sold illicitly.

bootleg, black, black-market, contraband, smuggled

Example:
  • “the black economy pays no taxes”
Derivationally related form:
  • contraband (noun) - goods whose importation or exportation or possession is prohibited by law
black is similar to:
  • illegal (adjective) - prohibited by law or by official or accepted rules

12. (used of conduct or character) deserving or bringing disgrace or shame; "Man...has written one of his blackest records as a destroyer on the oceanic islands"- Rachel Carson; "an ignominious retreat"; "inglorious defeat"; "an opprobrious monument to human greed"; "a shameful display of cowardice".

black, disgraceful, ignominious, inglorious, opprobrious, shameful

Derivationally related form:
black is similar to:

13. (of coffee) without cream or sugar.

black

Derivationally related form:
  • black, blackness, inkiness (noun) - the quality or state of the achromatic color of least lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white)
black is similar to:

14. soiled with dirt or soot.

black, smutty

Examples:
  • “with feet black from playing outdoors”,
  • “his shirt was black within an hour”
Derivationally related form:
  • black, blackness, inkiness (noun) - the quality or state of the achromatic color of least lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white)
  • smuttiness, sootiness (noun) - the state of being dirty with soot
black is similar to: