blackening

Noun

Synonyms: darkening

WordNet 3.0

Blacken \Black"en\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blackened; p. pr. & vb. n. Blackening.] [See Black, a., and cf. Black, v. t. ]

1.To make or render black. [1913 Webster]

While the long funerals blacken all the way.— Pope.[1913 Webster]

2.To make dark; to darken; to cloud. "Blackened the whole heavens." --South. [1913 Webster]

3.To defame; to sully, as reputation; to make infamous; as, vice blackens the character. [1913 Webster]

Syn: To denigrate; defame; vilify; slander; calumniate; traduce; malign; asperse. [1913 Webster]