DIMMER

DIM

dim, subdued

(adjective) lacking in light; not bright or harsh; “a dim light beside the bed”; “subdued lights and soft music”

dimmed, dim

(adjective) made dim or less bright; “the dimmed houselights brought a hush of anticipation”; “dimmed headlights”; “we like dimmed lights when we have dinner”

dense, dim, dull, dumb, obtuse, slow

(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”

dim, faint, shadowy, vague, wispy

(adjective) 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”

black, bleak, dim

(adjective) 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”

dimmer

(noun) a rheostat that varies the current through an electric light in order to control the level of illumination

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

dimmer (plural dimmers)

A rheostat that is used to vary the intensity of a domestic electric light

A switch used to select between the low and high headlamp beam on a road vehicle. (usually as "dimmer switch", primarily in North America; elsewhere "dipswitch" or "dipper switch")

Adjective

dimmer

comparative form of dim

Anagrams

• rimmed

Source: Wiktionary

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DIM

Dim, a. [Compar. Dimmer; superl. Dimmest.] Etym: [AS. dim; akin to OFries. dim, Icel. dimmr: cf. MHG. timmer, timber; of uncertain origin.]

1. Not bright or distinct; wanting luminousness or clearness; obscure in luster or sound; dusky; darkish; obscure; indistinct; overcast; tarnished. The dim magnificence of poetry. Whewell. How is the gold become dim! Lam. iv. 1. I never saw The heavens so dim by day. Shak. Three sleepless nights I passed in sounding on, Through words and things, a dim and perilous way. Wordsworth.

2. Of obscure vision; not seeing clearly; hence, dull of apprehension; of weak perception; obtuse. Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow. Job xvii. 7. The understanding is dim. Rogers.

Note: Obvious compounds: dim-eyed; dim-sighted, etc.

Syn.

– Obscure; dusky; dark; mysterious; imperfect; dull; sullied; tarnished.

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.

Dim, v. i.

Definition: To grow dim. J. C. Shairp.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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