# dim

> English word · Adjective · IPA /dɪm/ · frequency rank #12,578

## Definitions
1. Not bright or colorful.
2. Not smart or intelligent.
3. Indistinct, hazy or unclear.
4. Disapproving, unfavorable: rarely used outside the phrase take a dim view of.

## Etymology
From Middle English dim, dym, from Old English dim, dimm (“dim, dark, gloomy; wretched, grievous, sad, unhappy”), from Proto-West Germanic *dimm, from Proto-Germanic *dimmaz (“dark”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰem- (“to whisk, smoke; obscure”). Compare Faroese dimmur (“dark”), Icelandic dimmur (“dark”) and dimma (“darkness”).

## Easily confused with
- **do** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dim-vs-do)
- **Dr** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dim-vs-dr)
- **DJ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dim-vs-dj)
- **DM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dim-vs-dm)
- **DS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dim-vs-ds)
- **DL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dim-vs-dl)
- **DT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dim-vs-dt)
- **DP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dim-vs-dp)
- **dw** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dim-vs-dw)
- **Dx** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dim-vs-dx)
- **DV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dim-vs-dv)
- **dy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dim-vs-dy)
- **DQ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dim-vs-dq)
- **due** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dim-vs-due)
- **dog** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dim-vs-dog)
- **dry** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dim-vs-dry)
- **don** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dim-vs-don)
- **DNA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dim-vs-dna)
- **doc** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dim-vs-doc)
- **DVD** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dim-vs-dvd)

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