benight

2 definitions found

benight - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  benight \be*night"\ (b[-e]*n[imac]t"), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
     Benighted; p. pr. & vb. n. Benighting.]
     1. To involve in darkness; to shroud with the shades of
        night; to obscure. [Archaic]
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The clouds benight the sky.           --Garth.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To overtake with night or darkness, especially before the
        end of a day's journey or task.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Some virgin, sure, . . . benighted in these woods.
                                                    --Milton.
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     3. To involve in moral darkness, or ignorance; to debar from
        intellectual light.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Shall we to men benighted
              The lamp of life deny ?               --Heber.
        [1913 Webster]

benight - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  benight
      v 1: overtake with darkness or night
      2: envelop with social, intellectual, or moral darkness; "The
         benighted peoples of this area"
      3: make darker and difficult to perceive by sight [syn:
         benight, bedim]