dim

lacking in light; not bright or harsh

• “a dim light beside the bed”
• “subdued lights and soft music”

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”

made dim or less bright

• “the dimmed houselights brought a hush of anticipation”
• “dimmed headlights”
• “we like dimmed lights when we have dinner”

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”

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”

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

become or make darker

• “The screen darkend”
• “He darkened the colors by adding brown”

become dim or lusterless

• “the lights dimmed and the curtain rose”

make dim or lusterless

• “Time had dimmed the silver”

make dim by comparison or conceal

become vague or indistinct

• “The distinction between the two theories blurred”