The word ‘dark‘ as an adjective can mean with little light, a colour close to black, an unpleasant time or mysterious.

For example:

  • It’s a dark evening today. (little light)
  • My bedroom carpet is dark red. (a colour close to black)
  • I went through some dark time in my youth. (an unpleasant time)
  • Kiron has been hiding a dark secret from his friends. (mysterious)

dark idioms list

Let’s take a look at some common idioms containing the word ‘dark’.

  • a dark horse
    meaning – an unknown competitor or a person who keeps their talents secret
    example – The dark horse, Duke Runalot beat the favourites to win the race.
  • keep in the dark
    meaning – unaware, uninformed
    example – Why are they keeping me in the dark? I want to know how serious the accident was.
  • whistle in the dark
    meaning – pretend not to be afraid in difficult times or guess aimlessly
    example – The boss thinks we’ll be inundated with orders next month. I think he’s whistling in the dark.

dark idioms list with pictures

Here’s some real life picture examples.

idioms and phrases with adjectives - dark
adjective idioms (dark) - dark horse
adjective idioms (dark) - keep in the dark
adjective idioms (dark) - whistle in the dark

You can download a table of ‘dark’ idioms and expressions below.

If you’ve enjoyed this page, don’t forget to check out some more idioms with adjectives by clicking on the links below.