to bedim

9.9

To make something, like light and memory, less bright or clear

verb
/bɪˈdɪm/

: oscurecer

And tears bedim your loving eyes

Examples

The thick fog began to bedim the view of the mountains.
The artist used dark colors to bedim the background in her painting.
As dusk fell, the light from the streetlamps bedimmed the once bright park.

Synonyms

to blur

vsto bedim

90 3.6

To make something hard to see or understand

is about overall loss of light or clearness, not only edges

to obscure

vsto bedim

84 7.0

Make something hard to see or understand

often emphasizes reducing light or brightness as well as concealing

to cloud

vsto bedim

77 4.4

To make something less clear or bright by covering it

leans more on lowering visibility through dimming rather than mere covering

to blind

vsto bedim

51 6.8

To make people not notice something by being more obvious

is broader and includes direct reduction of light or clarity itself

to dim

vsto bedim

45 2.4

To become less bright or make a light weaker

is broader, covering both literal dimming and figurative loss of clarity

to darken

vsto bedim

38 3.3

Make or become less bright, for example a room

focuses more on loss of clarity or sharpness rather than only darkness

to fog

vsto bedim

15 5.2

To make something hard to see or understand

also covers simple darkening or loss of clarity beyond hazy conditions

to blot out

vsto bedim

14 5.4

Hide something so you cannot see it or remember it

is less extreme, allowing partial dimming or weakening of visibility

to overshadow

vsto bedim

1 5.4

To make something darker by blocking light

is more general, covering both shadowing and non-shadow forms of dimming

to becloud

vsto bedim

1 8.9

To make something less clear and hard to see, often by smoke, fog or strong feelings

stresses general reduction in light or clarity rather than only clouding

to deaden

vsto bedim

1 6.1

To make an outline, sound, or feeling less clear

leans more on reducing light or visual clarity rather than dulling strength

to befog

vsto bedim

1 8.8

To make something hard to see or understand

is broader and includes lowering brightness as well as haziness

to blear

vsto bedim

1 9.9

To make the edges of things look dim or blurred

is broader, applying to both visual blurring and figurative unclearing

to murk

vsto bedim

1 9.5

To make something dark or hard to see

focuses more on reducing brightness and general clarity in many contexts

to benight

vsto bedim

Literature

1 9.9

To make a place dark or become dark as night falls

is broader and includes non temporal or figurative loss of clarity

to dislimn

vsto bedim

Archaic

1 9.9

To make the outline or image faint and hard to see

is more general, covering overall darkening and loss of clarity

to overcloud

vsto bedim

1 8.4

To make something less clear and hard to understand

is more general, including literal loss of brightness as well

to becloud the view

vsto bedim

8.7

Make the view hard to see because of fog or smoke

is wider, including both hiding and making things darker or unclear

Antonyms

to clarify

255 3.3

To make something clear so others can understand it

to brighten

71 2.7

To make a place or thing look more cheerful by adding color

How Dim

to blacken

16 3.4

to darken

38 3.3

to bedim

9.9

to obscure

84 7.0

to blur

90 3.6

Surface Forms

bedim infinitive

bedimmed past

bedimmed past participle

bedimming present participle

bedims third person singular

Morphology

bedim = dim + be (transparent) = be + dim + be

The verb is a straightforward productive formation from the adjective 'dim' with the productive prefix 'be-', meaning 'make X'.

Etymology

Bedim comes from the prefix be- ('to make') plus the word dim ('not bright'). So to bedim something is to 'make' it dim — to make it darker or less clear, either in light or in meaning.