dim
Other forms: dimmed; dimming; dims; dimmest
Dim has several meanings related to a lack of light, hope, or knowledge. A room that is not well lit is dim, a slow thinker is dim, and when life looks hopeless, your prospects are dim.
To dim a light is to dull it, like by putting a shade over it. A vague idea without a lot of specifics is also dim, since it's hard to see or understand the idea. Someone who's not very bright is dim or a dimwit. When things are hopeless, they're dim too. For example, if a football team is losing by fifty points, their chances of winning are dim.
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lacking in light; not bright or harsh
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made dim or less bright
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make dim or lusterless“Time had dimmed the silver”type of:darkenmake dark or darker
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become dim or lusterless“the lights dimmed and the curtain rose”type of:changeundergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature
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switch (a car's headlights) from a higher to a lower beamsynonyms: diptype of:change intensityincrease or decrease in intensity
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lacking clarity or distinctness“a dim figure in the distance”indistinctnot clearly defined or easy to perceive or understand
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become vague or indistincttypes:type of:weakenbecome weaker
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make dim by comparison or conceal
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offering little or no hope
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slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity
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Vocabulary lists containing dim
Context is king — that’s the lesson you need to internalize as you begin preparing for the vocabulary questions on the SAT. We have identified this pool of 200 words that cut across the disciplines and lend themselves well to context-dependent interpretation. As you learn this list on Vocabulary.com, you will have to rely on context clues in order to determine each word’s meaning in particular sentences. This is the same type of thinking you will need to develop in order to succeed on the SAT! Following our Roadmap to the SAT? Head back to see what else you should be learning this week.
Context is king -- that’s the lesson you need to internalize as you begin preparing for the vocabulary questions on the new SAT. We have identified this pool of 200 words that cut across the disciplines and lend themselves well to context-dependent interpretation. As you learn this list on Vocabulary.com, you will have to rely on context clues in order to determine each word’s meaning in particular sentences. This is the same type of thinking you will need to develop in order to succeed on the new SAT! Here are all of our word lists to help you prepare for the new SAT (debuting March of 2016): The Language of the Test, Multiple-Meaning Words, and Words to Capture Tone.
On the ACT Reading Test, you'll encounter questions that ask you to determine the meanings of common words in context. We've identified 200 high-frequency, multiple-meaning words of the sort that you'll see on the exam. As you practice this list, you'll have to rely on context clues in order to determine each word’s meaning in a particular sentence. Be careful! Several of a word's meanings might show up as answer choices — but only one answer will capture the meaning of the word in the context of the sentence.