dark age
nounDefinition of dark age
1
: a time during which a civilization undergoes a decline: such as
a
Dark Ages plural
: the European historical period from about a.d. 476 to about 1000
broadly
: middle ages
b
or Dark Age
: the Greek historical period of three to four centuries from about 1100 b.c.
—often plural
2 or Dark Age
a
: the primitive period in the development of something
—usually plural in the dark ages of medicine
b
: a state of stagnation or decline
—usually plural
Examples of dark age in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Slavery was present in European as well as in the Islamic Ottoman empires throughout the dark ages. — Letter Writers, Twin Cities, "Letters: Roots of slavery in America go back thousands of years," 28 Aug. 2019 Get our daily newsletter Vodafone’s protracted dark ages stem from a problem common throughout Europe. — The Economist, "Vodafone’s search for the G-spot," 22 Aug. 2019 In contrast, cycling has remained in the dark ages. — Rachel Sturtz, Outside Online, "Meet the Billie Jean King of Cycling," 24 July 2019 If the Oscars want to come out of the dark ages, the Academy will forward her next call. — Bridget Read, Vogue, "Why Is Ellen DeGeneres Trying to Rehab Kevin Hart as Oscars Host?," 4 Jan. 2019 After a run of five consecutive titles (three in 4A and two in 5A), the Irish have not won a state championship since the dark ages of 2014. — Kyle Neddenriep, Indianapolis Star, "High school football: New faces in new places for 2018 season," 28 June 2018 Library holdings have helped reassure me that values associated with reason, intellect and art really do tend to survive dark ages of various kinds. — John Glassie, New York Times, "Codices, Termites and Floral Notes: The Wondrous Life of ‘The Library’," 1 June 2018 To see back into the dark age before the first stars, astronomers look for a signal emitted when electrons in the primordial neutral hydrogen gas spontaneously flipped their orientation. — Daniel Clery, Science | AAAS, "China’s moon mission will probe cosmic dark ages," 16 May 2018 The worst part about it: There was reason to believe this season wouldn’t be like those in the franchise’s dark ages. — Jonas Shaffer, baltimoresun.com, "'I'm afraid to turn on the Orioles tonight': Bleak start tests the patience of Birds diehards," 8 May 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dark age.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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