Meaning & Definition of Dim in English

1. Switch (a car's headlights) from a higher to a lower beam

2. Become dim or lusterless

• "The lights dimmed and the curtain rose"

3. Make dim or lusterless

• "Time had dimmed the silver"

4. Make dim by comparison or conceal

5. Become vague or indistinct

• "The distinction between the two theories blurred"

1. Lacking in light

• Not bright or harsh

• "A dim light beside the bed"

• "Subdued lights and soft music"

2. 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"

3. Made dim or less bright

• "The dimmed houselights brought a hush of anticipation"

• "Dimmed headlights"

• "We like dimmed lights when we have dinner"

4. 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"

5. 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"