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Glite Dictionary
pitch-dark

pitch-dark

4 3.4
There is no light at all, like a room with no windows
  • adjective
  • /pɪtʃ dɑrk/
translation icon : completamente oscuro
  • The room is pitch dark.
  • pitch-dark room
  • pitch-dark night
  • pitch-dark hallway

And it's, I'm talking, I'm saying it's pitch dark.

Examples

  • When I woke up, it was pitch-dark and I felt scared to death.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • But suppose we are in a strange house, it is suddenly pitch dark, and there are no lights.

    Academic text (1998)

  • But it is now pitch dark.

    Bikini Girls on Ice (2009)

  • Yeah, it was pitch dark, actually.

    Redacted (2007)

  • And it was pitch dark.

    Killer Joe (2012)

  • The cell was pitch dark.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • The room was pitch dark.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • It will be pitch-dark in half an hour.

    Night Must Fall (1937)

  • It's pitch dark outside.

    End of a Gun (2016)

  • The forest was silent and pitch-dark when I headed up the valley from camp.

Synonyms

black
vspitch-dark
∞ 1.0

Very dark in color like coal or the night

focuses on absence of light rather than color description
dark
vspitch-dark
∞ 1.0

With little or no light and not bright

is more extreme meaning total absence rather than slight dimness
pitch-black
vspitch-dark
8 3.4

Completely dark with no light

is the other common form with the same absolute absence of light
lightless
vspitch-dark
2 5.1

Completely dark so you cannot see anything

is the absolute form stressing total absence of light

Antonyms

bright
459 1.0

Full of strong light that makes a place easy to see

lit
1.0

Having enough light to see easily

How Dark

pitch-dark
4 3.4
dark
∞ 1.0
dim
62 1.0

Surface Forms

pitch-dark positive

Morphology

pitch-dark = pitch + dark (semi-transparent) = pitch + dark

Formed from 'pitch' + 'dark' where 'dark' is obvious but the metaphorical sense 'as dark as pitch' may be unfamiliar to some learners.

Etymology

Pitch-dark comes from pitch, an old word for very black, sticky 'tar', and the familiar word dark. People used to say something was 'as black as pitch', so pitch-dark means completely without light.