darkened

/ˈdɑɹkənd/

//ˈdɑɹkənd// verb

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

"darkened" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“darkened” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #24,420. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#24,420
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - simple past and past participle of darken

Corpus desk

Index EN-darkened · darkened · English

darkened · rank #24,420 · 12 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #24,420
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH cynicism

Nearest frequency peer: cynicism (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “darkened”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “darkened” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

darkened vs darned
75% similar
darkened vs Darlene
63% similar
darkened vs darken
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for darkened
PropertyValue
Headworddarkened
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈdɑɹkənd/
Letters8
Frequency rank#24,420
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “darkened”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).darkenedlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “cynicism” (#24,419), “dazed” (#24,421), “Cummins” (#24,418). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “darkened” is #24,420. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around darkened (IPA /ˈdɑɹkənd/), averb. Corpus frequency is #24,420 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Dominant gloss: "simple past and past participle of darken".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for darkened, with forms such as "adrkened", "dakrened", and "darekned". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "darned", "Darlene", "darken", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is darkened, spelled D-A-R-K-E-N-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of darken

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • adrkened
  • dakrened
  • darekned
  • darkeend
  • darkende
  • darkenedd
  • darkenned
  • darkkened
  • darkneed
  • darrkened
  • ddarkened
  • drakened

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of darkened - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

adrkened2dakrened2darekned2darkeend2darkende2darkenedd1darkenned1darkkened1
Edit distance from "darkened"

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 "darkened"?
"darkened" is spelled D-A-R-K-E-N-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɑɹkənd/.
What does "darkened" mean?
As a verb, "darkened" means: simple past and past participle of darken
What words are commonly confused with "darkened"?
"darkened" is commonly confused with "darned", "Darlene", "darken". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "darkened"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "darkened" is /ˈdɑɹkənd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "darkened" come from?
"darkened" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "darkened", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cynicism#24,419devolved#24,424Clintons#24,409chipotle#24,406

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

commotion12 variantsburdened12 variantsforaging12 variantsforeword12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list