dim

dim

I. dim¹ /dɪm/ BrE AmE adjective (comparative dimmer, superlative dimmest)
[Language: Old English]
1. DARK fairly dark or not giving much light, so that you cannot see well OPP bright:
in the dim light of the early dawn
a dim glow
2. SHAPE a dim shape is one which is not easy to see because it is too far away, or there is not enough light:
The dim outline of a building loomed up out of the mist.
3. take a dim view of something to disapprove of something:
Miss Watson took a dim view of Paul’s behaviour.
4. dim recollection/awareness etc a memory or understanding of something that is not clear in your mind SYN vague:
Laura had a dim recollection of someone telling her this before.
5. EYES literary dim eyes are weak and cannot see well:
Isaac was old and his eyes were dim.
6. FUTURE CHANCES if your chances of success in the future are dim, they are not good:
Prospects for an early settlement of the dispute are dim.
7. in the dim and distant past a very long time ago – used humorously
8. NOT INTELLIGENT informal not intelligent:
You can be really dim sometimes!
—dimly adverb:
a dimly lit room
She was only dimly aware of the risk.
—dimness noun [uncountable]
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ dark if a place is dark, there is little or no light: The room was very dark. | No, you can’t play outside, it’s too dark. | It was a dark night with clouds covering the moon.
▪ dimly-lit a dimly-lit building or place is fairly dark because the lights there are not very bright: a dimly-lit restaurant | The church was dimly lit.
▪ dim a dim light is fairly dark: The camera can take good pictures even in dim lighting. | The evening sky grew dim.
▪ darkened a darkened room or building is darker than usual, especially because its lights have been turned off or the curtains have been drawn: The prisoner lay in a darkened room. | The play starts with a darkened stage, and the sound of a woman singing softly.
▪ gloomy a gloomy place or room is not at all bright or cheerful: The bar was gloomy and smelled of stale cigar smoke.
▪ murky dark and difficult to see through – used especially about water: the murky waters of the lake | I could hardly see him in the murky light of the bar.
▪ pitch-dark/pitch-black completely dark, so that nothing can be seen: It was pitch-dark inside the shed.
▪ shady a shady place is cooler and darker than the area around it, because the light of the sun cannot reach it: It was nice and shady under the trees. | They found a shady spot for a picnic.