blacken

/ˈblækən/

//ˈblækən// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"blacken" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“blacken” is uncommon English (frequency #70,504 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#70,504
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To cause to be or become black.

Corpus desk

Index EN-blacken · blacken · English

blacken · rank #70,504 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #70,504
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH blather

Nearest frequency peer: blather (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “blacken”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “blacken” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for blacken
PropertyValue
Headwordblacken
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈblækən/
Letters7
Frequency rank#70,504
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “blacken” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).blackenfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “blather” (#70,505), “Bicester” (#70,502), “Bloomingdale” (#70,506). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “blacken” is #70,504. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

blacken is uncommon English at frequency #70,504 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈblækən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for blacken in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English blaknen, blakkenen, equivalent to black + -en (verbal suffix). The correct English form is blacken, spelled B-L-A-C-K-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    To cause to be or become black.
  2. 2
    To become black.
  3. 3
    To make dirty.
  4. 4
    To defame or sully.
  5. 5
    To cook (meat or fish) by coating with pepper, etc., and quickly searing in a hot pan.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how blacken appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Iron and coal were the magnets that drew railways to this land of lovely valleys and silent mountains—for such it was a century-and-a-half ago, before man blackened the valleys with the smoke of his forges, scarred the green hills with his shafts and waste-heaps, and drove the salmon from the quiet Rhondda and the murmuring Taff.
  2. The sky blackened as the storm clouds rolled in.

Etymology

From Middle English blaknen, blakkenen, equivalent to black + -en (verbal suffix).

Synonyms

blackblackenblack upblackwashblatchbletchdenigrateforswartinfuscatenigrifypitchswartswarten

This word in other languages

ennegrecer(Español)noircir(Français)schwärzen(Deutsch)enegrecer(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "blacken"?
"blacken" is spelled B-L-A-C-K-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈblækən/.
What does "blacken" mean?
As a verb, "blacken" means: To cause to be or become black.
How do you pronounce "blacken"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "blacken" is /ˈblækən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "blacken"?
From Middle English blaknen, blakkenen, equivalent to black + -en (verbal suffix). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "blacken", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

blather#70,505Bharati#70,500beshear#70,499Brawley#70,512

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list