# dark vs darken

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### dark
*adjective · IPA /dɑːk/ · frequency rank #966*
Having an absolute or (more often) relative lack of light.

### darken
*verb · IPA /ˈdɑɹkən/ · frequency rank #33,602*
To make dark or darker by reducing light.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dark-vs-darken