dim

Adjective

• slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity
  • so dense he never understands anything I say to him
    
  • never met anyone quite so dim
    
  • although dull at classical learning, at mathematics he was uncommonly quick- Thackeray
    
  • dumb officials make some really dumb decisions
    
  • he was either normally stupid or being deliberately obtuse
    
  • worked with the slow students
    

• offering little or no hope
  • the future looked black
    
  • prospects were bleak
    
  • Life in the Aran Islands has always been bleak and difficult- J.M.Synge
    
  • took a dim view of things
    

• made dim or less bright
  • the dimmed houselights brought a hush of anticipation
    
  • dimmed headlights
    
  • we like dimmed lights when we have dinner
    

• lacking clarity or distinctness
  • a dim figure in the distance
    
  • only a faint recollection
    
  • shadowy figures in the gloom
    
  • saw a vague outline of a building through the fog
    
  • a few wispy memories of childhood
    

• lacking in light; not bright or harsh
  • a dim light beside the bed
    
  • subdued lights and soft music
    

Verb

• become vague or indistinct
  • The distinction between the two theories blurred
    

• make dim by comparison or conceal

• make dim or lusterless
  • Time had dimmed the silver
    

• become dim or lusterless
  • the lights dimmed and the curtain rose
    

• switch (a car's headlights) from a higher to a lower beam

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  dense , dull , dumb , obtuse , slow , black , bleak , dimmed , faint , shadowy , vague , wispy , subdued , blur , slur , blind , dip
• Antonyms: 
  undimmed , bright , focus , focalize , focalise