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Dark vs Shade - What's the difference?

dark | shade | Related terms |

In uncountable terms the difference between dark and shade

is that dark is nightfall while shade is darkness where light, particularly sunlight, is blocked.

As nouns the difference between dark and shade

is that dark is a complete or (more often) partial absence of light while shade is darkness where light, particularly sunlight, is blocked.

As an adjective dark

is having an absolute or (more often) relative lack of light.

As a verb shade is

to shield from light.

dark

English

Adjective

(er)
  • Having an absolute or (more often) relative lack of light.
  • :
  • *
  • *:They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. And why else was he put away up there out of sight?—and so magnificent a brush as he had too.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Out of the gloom , passage=[Rural solar plant] schemes are of little help to industry or other heavy users of electricity. Nor is solar power yet as cheap as the grid. For all that, the rapid arrival of electric light to Indian villages is long overdue. When the national grid suffers its next huge outage, as it did in July 2012 when hundreds of millions were left in the dark , look for specks of light in the villages.}}
  • #(lb) .
  • #:
  • #Deprived of sight; blind.
  • #*(John Evelyn) (1620-1706)
  • #*:He was, I think, at this time quite dark , and so had been for some years.
  • (lb) Dull or deeper in hue; not bright or light.
  • :
  • *
  • *:Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. The clear light of the bright autumn morning had no terrors for youth and health like hers.
  • *
  • *:If I close my eyes I can see Marie today as I saw her then. Round, rosy face, snub nose, dark hair piled up in a chignon.
  • Hidden, secret, obscure.
  • *1603-1606 , (William Shakespeare), (King Lear) , i 1
  • *:Meantime we shall express our darker purpose
  • #Not clear to the understanding; not easily through; obscure; mysterious; hidden.
  • #*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • #*:What's your dark meaning, mouse, of this light word?
  • #*1594- , (Richard Hooker),
  • #*:What may seem dark at the first, will afterward be found more plain.
  • #*(w) (1819-1885)
  • #*:the dark problems of existence
  • # Having racing capability not widely known.
  • Without moral or spiritual light; sinister, malign.
  • :
  • *(John Milton) (1608-1674)
  • *:Left him at large to his own dark designs.
  • Conducive to hopelessness; depressing or bleak.
  • :
  • * (1800-1859)
  • *:A deep melancholy took possession of him, and gave a dark tinge to all his views of human nature.
  • *(Washington Irving) (1783-1859)
  • *:There is, in every true woman's heart, a spark of heavenly fire, which beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity.
  • Lacking progress in science or the arts; said of a time period.
  • *Sir (1614-1669)
  • *:The age wherein he lived was dark , but he / Could not want light who taught the world to see.
  • *(Arthur Hallam) (1811-1833)
  • *:The tenth century used to be reckoned by mediaeval historians as the darkest part of this intellectual night.
  • With emphasis placed on the unpleasant aspects of life; said of a work of fiction, a work of nonfiction presented in narrative form or a portion of either.
  • :
  • Synonyms

    * (relative lack of light) dim, gloomy, see also * (sinister or secret) hidden, secret, sinister, see also * (without morals) malign, sinister, see also * (of colour) deep, see also * (conducive to hopelessness) hopeless, negative, pessimistic * (lacking progress) unenlightened

    Antonyms

    * (relative lack of light) bright, light, lit * (of colour) bright, light, pale

    Derived terms

    * dark energy * dark flow * dark-haired * dark horse * dark matter * dark-skinned

    Noun

    (en-noun)
  • A complete or (more often) partial absence of light.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Here stood he in the dark , his sharp sword out.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
  • , chapter=17 citation , passage=The face which emerged was not reassuring. It was blunt and grey, the nose springing thick and flat from high on the frontal bone of the forehead, whilst his eyes were narrow slits of dark in a tight bandage of tissue. […].}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Out of the gloom , passage=[Rural solar plant] schemes are of little help to industry or other heavy users of electricity. Nor is solar power yet as cheap as the grid. For all that, the rapid arrival of electric light to Indian villages is long overdue. When the national grid suffers its next huge outage, as it did in July 2012 when hundreds of millions were left in the dark , look for specks of light in the villages.}}
  • (uncountable) Ignorance.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Look, what you do, you do it still i' th' dark .
  • * John Locke
  • Till we perceive by our own understandings, we are as much in the dark , and as void of knowledge, as before.
  • (uncountable) Nightfall.
  • A dark shade or dark passage in a painting, engraving, etc.
  • * Dryden
  • The lights may serve for a repose to the darks', and the ' darks to the lights.

    Derived terms

    * after dark * all cats are gray in the dark * at dark * bedarken * before dark * Dark Ages * dark blue * dark brown * dark chocolate * dark comedy * Dark Continent * dark current * dark elves * darken * dark energy * darkey * dark fiber * darkfield * dark field * dark figure * darkful * dark glasses * dark horse * dark house * darkish * dark lantern * darkle * dark matter * dark meat * dark nebula * darkness * dark reaction * dark red * darkroom * dark-room * dark room * dark-skinned * dark side * darksome * dark space * dark star * darky * endark * oh dark thirty * pitch-dark * shot in the dark * whistle in the dark

    See also

    * black * shadow

    Statistics

    *

    Anagrams

    * 1000 English basic words ----

    shade

    English

    (wikipedia shade)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) sceadu.

    Noun

  • (label) Darkness where light, particularly sunlight, is blocked.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=8 , passage=Now we plunged into a deep shade with the boughs lacing each other overhead, and crossed dainty, rustic bridges over the cold trout-streams, the boards giving back the clatter of our horses' feet:
  • (label) Something that blocks light, particularly in a window.
  • (label) A variety of a colour/color, in particular one obtained by adding black (compare tint).
  • * (John Locke) (1632-1705)
  • Thus light and colours, as white, red, yellow, blue, with their several degrees or shades , and mixtures, as green, scarlet, purple, sea-green, and the rest, come in only by the eyes
  • (label) A subtle variation in a concept.
  • * (Thomas De Quincey) (1785-1859)
  • new shades and combinations of thought
  • * (1800-1859)
  • Every shade of religious and political opinion has its own headquarters.
  • (label) An aspect that is reminiscent of something.
  • * Agatha Christie, Miss Marple Tells a Story
  • Mrs. Rhodes who (so I gathered from Mr. Petherick's careful language) was perhaps just a shade of a hypochondriac, had retired to bed immediately after dinner.
  • A ghost.
  • * (John Dryden) (1631-1700)
  • Swift as thought the flitting shade / Thro' air his momentary journey made.
  • (label) A creature that is partially human and partially angel.
  • (label) A postage stamp showing an obvious difference in colour/color to the original printing and needing a separate catalogue/catalog entry.
  • Subtle insults.
  • Etymology 2

    From (etyl) sceadwian.

    Verb

    (shad)
  • To shield from light.
  • The old oak tree shaded the lawn in the heat of the day.
  • To alter slightly.
  • You'll need to shade your shot slightly to the left.
    Most politicians will shade the truth if it helps them.
  • To vary slightly, particularly in color.
  • The hillside was bright green, shading towards gold in the drier areas.
  • (intransitive, baseball, of a defensive player) To move slightly from one's normal fielding position.
  • Jones will shade a little to the right on this pitch count.
  • To darken, particularly in drawing.
  • I draw contours first, gradually shading in midtones and shadows.
  • (obsolete) To shelter; to cover from injury; to protect; to screen.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Ere in our own house I do shade my head.
  • (obsolete) To present a shadow or image of; to shadow forth; to represent.
  • * Spenser
  • [The goddess] in her person cunningly did shade / That part of Justice which is Equity.
    Derived terms
    * (l)

    Derived terms

    * lampshade * made in the shade * nightshade * shader * shading * shady