The difference between Black and Blacken

When used as verbs, black means to make black, to blacken, whereas blacken means to cause to be or become black.

Black is also noun with the meaning: the colour/color perceived in the absence of light, but also when no light is reflected, but rather absorbed.

Black is also adjective with the meaning: absorbing all light and reflecting none.

check bellow for the other definitions of Black and Blacken

  1. Black as an adjective (of an object):

    Absorbing all light and reflecting none; dark and hueless.

  2. Black as an adjective (of a place, etc):

    Without light.

  3. Black as an adjective (sometimes [[capitalized]]):

    Of or relating to any of various ethnic groups having dark pigmentation of the skin.

  4. Black as an adjective (chiefly, historical):

    Designated for use by those ethnic groups which have dark pigmentation of the skin.

    Examples:

    "black drinking fountain; black hospital"

  5. Black as an adjective (card games, of a card):

    Of the spades or clubs suits. Compare

    Examples:

    "I was dealt two red queens, and he got one of the black queens."

  6. Black as an adjective:

    Bad; evil; ill-omened.

  7. Black as an adjective:

    Expressing menace, or discontent; threatening; sullen.

    Examples:

    "He shot her a black look."

  8. Black as an adjective:

    Illegitimate, illegal or disgraced.

  9. Black as an adjective (Ireland, informal):

    Overcrowded.

  10. Black as an adjective (of [[coffee]] or [[tea]]):

    Without any cream, milk or creamer.

    Examples:

    "Jim drinks his coffee black, but Ellen prefers it with creamer."

  11. Black as an adjective (board games, chess):

    Of or relating to the playing pieces of a board game deemed to belong to the "black" set (in chess the set used by the player who moves second) .

    Examples:

    "The black pieces in this [[chess set]] are made of [[dark]] [[blue]] [[glass]]."

  12. Black as an adjective (typography):

    Said of a symbol or character that is solid, filled with color. Compare .

    Examples:

    "Compare two Unicode symbols: mu ☞ = "WHITE RIGHT POINTING INDEX"; mu ☛ = BLACK RIGHT POINTING INDEX"

  13. Black as an adjective (politics):

    Related to the of Germany.

    Examples:

    "After the election, the parties united in a black-yellow alliance."

  14. Black as an adjective:

    Relating to an initiative whose existence or exact nature must remain withheld from the general public.

    Examples:

    "5 percent of the Defense Department funding will go to black projects."

  15. Black as an adjective (Ireland, now, pejorative):

    Protestant, often with the implication of being militantly pro-British or anti-Catholic

    Examples:

    "Originally "the Black North" meant west [[Ulster]],<ref> 1812, Edward Wakefield, [https://books.google.ie/books?id=P54TAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA737 ''An Account of Ireland, Statistical and Political'' Vol. 2 p. 737] "There is a district, comprehending Donegal, the interior of the county of Derry, and the western side of Tyrone, which is emphatically called by the people "the Black North," an expression not meant, as I conceive, to mark its greater exposure to the westerly winds, but rather its dreary aspect." </ref> then Protestant east Ulster. Compare also [[blackmouth]] ["[[Presbyterian]]"] and the [[w:Royal Black Institution Royal Black Institution]]."

  16. Black as an adjective:

    Examples:

    "[[black birch]], [[black locust]], [[black rhino]]"

  1. Black as a noun (countable, and, uncountable):

    The colour/color perceived in the absence of light, but also when no light is reflected, but rather absorbed.

    Examples:

    "colour pane000"

  2. Black as a noun (countable, and, uncountable):

    A black dye or pigment.

  3. Black as a noun (countable):

    A pen, pencil, crayon, etc., made of black pigment.

  4. Black as a noun (in the plural):

    Black cloth hung up at funerals.

  5. Black as a noun (sometimes capitalised, countable):

    A person of African, Aborigine, or Maori descent; a dark-skinned person.

  6. Black as a noun (billiards, snooker, pool, countable):

    The black ball.

  7. Black as a noun (baseball, countable):

    The edge of home plate.

  8. Black as a noun (British, countable):

    A type of firecracker that is really more dark brown in colour.

  9. Black as a noun (informal, countable):

    Blackcurrant syrup (in mixed drinks, e.g. snakebite and black, cider and black).

  10. Black as a noun (in chess and similar games, countable):

    The person playing with the black set of pieces.

    Examples:

    "At this point black makes a disastrous move."

  11. Black as a noun (countable):

    Part of a thing which is distinguished from the rest by being black.

  12. Black as a noun (obsolete, countable):

    A stain; a spot.

  13. Black as a noun:

    A dark smut fungus, harmful to wheat.

  1. Black as a verb:

    To make black, to blacken.

  2. Black as a verb:

    To apply blacking to something.

  3. Black as a verb (British):

    To boycott something or someone, usually as part of an industrial dispute.

  1. Blacken as a verb (transitive):

    To cause to be or become black.

  2. Blacken as a verb (intransitive):

    To become black.

    Examples:

    "The sky blackened as the storm clouds rolled in."

  3. Blacken as a verb:

    To make dirty.

  4. Blacken as a verb:

    To defame or sully.

    Examples:

    "Malice delights to blacken the characters of prominent men.'' &mdash; Napoleon Bonaparte"

  5. Blacken as a verb:

    To cook (meat or fish) by coating with pepper, etc., and quickly searing in a hot pan.

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