blacken out
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To darken completely, to make or become entirely black or dark: This refers to the action of causing an area, object, or space to lose all light, resulting in total darkness or a very dark state.
- To lose consciousness or memory temporarily; to faint: This meaning describes a sudden, temporary loss of consciousness or the inability to remember a period of time.
- To suppress or censor information, especially by obscuring text or images: This usage involves deliberately covering, hiding, or removing information to prevent it from being seen or known.
Usage Examples
- Verb (to darken completely):
- During the air raid, we had to blacken out all the windows.
- A sudden storm caused the sky to blacken out in the middle of the day.
- Verb (to lose consciousness/memory):
- The boxer was hit so hard he blackened out for a few seconds.
- I blackened out after the accident and don't remember the drive to the hospital.
- Verb (to censor/suppress):
- The government ordered the newspaper to blacken out the sensitive paragraphs in the article.
- For privacy, they blackened out the names on the leaked document.
Advanced Usage
- Technical/Operational Context: In aviation or military contexts, "blacken out" can describe a pilot experiencing temporary loss of vision and consciousness due to extreme gravitational forces (G-force induced loss of consciousness).
- The intense maneuver caused the pilot to nearly blacken out.
- Figurative Use for Memory: Used metaphorically to describe a complete mental block or the intentional forgetting of a traumatic event.
- My mind just blackened out that entire painful year.
Variants and Related Words
- Blackout (noun): A period of darkness caused by a failure of electrical power; a temporary loss of consciousness or memory; an act of censorship.
- The city experienced a widespread blackout last night.
- He had a total blackout and couldn't recall his actions.
Synonyms
- Darken: To make or become dark.
- Obliterate: To remove or destroy completely so as to leave no trace (often for information).
- Faint: To lose consciousness temporarily.
- Censor: To examine and suppress unacceptable parts of (a book, film, etc.).
- Suppress: To prevent from being disclosed or published.
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Black out: This is the standard phrasal verb form. "Blacken out" is a less common variant with the same core meanings.
- Please black out that confidential information before sharing the file.
- I think I'm going to black out if I stand up too fast.
Related Idioms
- Draw a blank: To fail to get an answer or result; to be unable to remember something. (Related to the memory-loss sense).
- I tried to remember his name, but I just drew a blank.
- Go dark: To cease all communication or visibility. (Related to the darkness/censorship sense).
- The spy agency told the operative to go dark for a week.
Verb
- darken completely
- The dining room blackened out