What is "dimmed"

Dim \Dim\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dimmed; p. pr. & vb. n. Dimming.]

1. To render dim, obscure, or dark; to make less bright or distinct; to take away the luster of; to darken; to dull; to obscure; to eclipse.

   A king among his courtiers, who dims all his attendants.
   --Dryden.

   Now set the sun, and twilight dimmed the ways.
   --Cowper.

2. To deprive of distinct vision; to hinder from seeing clearly, either by dazzling or clouding the eyes; to darken the senses or understanding of.

   Her starry eyes were dimmed with streaming tears.
   --C. Pitt.

vb. (en-pastdim)

1. adj. lacking in light; not bright or harsh; "a dim light beside the bed"; "subdued lights and soft music" [syn: subdued]

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" [syn: faint, shadowy, vague, wispy]

3. made dim or less bright; "the dimmed houselights brought a hush of anticipation"; "dimmed headlights"; "we like dimmed lights when we have dinner" [syn: dimmed] [ant: undimmed]

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" [syn: black, bleak]

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" [syn: dense, dull, dumb, obtuse, slow]

6. [also: dimming, dimmed, dimmest, dimmer]

adj. made dim or less bright; "the dimmed houselights brought a hush of anticipation"; "dimmed headlights"; "we like dimmed lights when we have dinner" [syn: dim] [ant: undimmed]

1. v. switch (a car's headlights) from a higher to a lower beam [syn: dip]

2. become or make darker; "The screen darkend"; "He darkened the colors by adding brown" [syn: darken] [ant: brighten]

3. become dim or lusterless; "the lights dimmed and the curtain rose"

4. make dim or lusterless; "Time had dimmed the silver"

5. make dim by comparison or conceal [syn: blind]

6. become vague or indistinct; "The distinction between the two theories blurred" [syn: blur, slur] [ant: focus]

7. [also: dimming, dimmed, dimmest, dimmer]

See dim