dark

暗い

光が少ない、またはなくて、物が見えにくい。

やさしい英語で： Having little or no light, so things are hard to see.

• The room is dark.
• It was getting dark when we left.
• Can you see anything in this dark tunnel?

類義語： unlit, dim

反対語： light, bright

よく使う表現： dark room, get dark, dark outside

濃い

白よりも黒に近い、濃い色をしている。

やさしい英語で： Having a deep colour that is closer to black than white.

• He has dark hair.
• She chose a darker shade of blue.
• Do you prefer light or dark colours?

使い方： dark + colour (The door is painted dark green.)

類義語： deep

反対語： light, pale

よく使う表現： dark blue, dark hair, dark clothes, dark brown

暗い、陰鬱な

悲しい気持ちや恐怖を感じさせたり、希望があまりなかったりする。

やさしい英語で： Sad, frightening, or without much hope.

• Those were dark days for our family.
• The story takes a dark turn.
• She feared a darker future after the factory closed.

類義語： bleak, gloomy, grim

反対語： hopeful

よく使う表現： dark times, dark thoughts, dark future, dark period

実力が未知の

レースに勝てる実力が、まだ周囲に知られていない。

やさしい英語で： Having an ability to win races that other people do not yet know about.

• A dark horse entered the race.
• The trainer kept his dark runner away from public trials.
• Bettors struggled to judge the dark horse’s chances.

類義語： untested, unknown

よく使う表現： dark horse, dark contender

暗闇

ある場所に光がない状態。

やさしい英語で： The lack of light in a place.

• I cannot see in the dark.
• The children are afraid of the dark.
• Her eyes slowly adjusted to the dark.

使い方： in the dark (We searched for the keys in the dark.)

類義語： darkness

反対語： light

よく使う表現： in the dark, out of the dark

日暮れ

昼の明るさが消え、夜が始まる時間。

やさしい英語で： The time when daylight ends and night begins.

• Come home before dark.
• We reached the village just after dark.
• They played outside until dark.

使い方： before/after/until dark (We arrived home before dark.)

類義語： nightfall, dusk

よく使う表現： before dark, after dark, until dark

何も知らない状態

あることを知らない、または知らせてもらっていない状態。

やさしい英語で： A state of not knowing or being told something.

• They kept me in the dark.
• We are still in the dark about their plans.
• Why was she left in the dark about the decision?

使い方： be in the dark about something (I am in the dark about the new rules.); keep/leave someone in the dark (They left the staff in the dark about the sale.)

類義語： ignorance

よく使う表現： in the dark, dark about something

濃い色の洗濯物

白や薄い色の服とは普通分けて洗う、濃い色の服。

やさしい英語で： Clothes with deep colours, usually washed separately from white or pale clothes.

• Wash the darks separately.
• I put all my darks in one basket.
• This detergent is designed for darks.

類義語： dark clothes

反対語： whites

よく使う表現： wash the darks, darks and whites, load of darks