darken vs shadow

darken

verb
  • To get dark (referring to the sky, either in the evening or as a result of cloud). 

  • To become gloomy, darker in mood. 

  • To render gloomy, darker in mood. 

  • To cloud, obscure, or perplex; to render less clear or intelligible. 

  • To become dark or darker (having less light). 

  • To make dark or darker by reducing light. 

  • To make dark or darker in colour. 

  • To blind, impair the eyesight. 

  • To become dark or darker in colour. 

  • To be blinded, lose one’s eyesight. 

  • To make foul; to sully; to tarnish. 

shadow

verb
  • To shade, cloud, or darken. 

  • To accompany (a professional) during the working day, so as to learn about an occupation one intends to take up. 

  • To make (an identifier, usually a variable) inaccessible by declaring another of the same name within the scope of the first. 

  • To hide; to conceal. 

  • To represent faintly and imperfectly. 

  • To block light or radio transmission from. 

  • To secretly or discreetly track or follow another, to keep under surveillance. 

  • To apply the shadowing process to (the contents of ROM). 

adj
  • Unofficial, informal, unauthorized, but acting as though it were. 

  • Having power or influence, but not widely known or recognized. 

  • Part of, or related to, the opposition in government. 

  • Acting in a leadership role before being formally recognized. 

noun
  • A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object. 

  • A small degree; a shade. 

  • An influence, especially a pervasive or a negative one. 

  • Relative darkness, especially as caused by the interruption of light; gloom; obscurity. 

  • That which looms as though a shadow. 

  • A area protected by an obstacle (likened to an object blocking out sunlight). 

  • One who secretly or furtively follows another. 

  • An inseparable companion. 

  • A drop shadow effect applied to lettering in word processors etc. 

  • A spirit; a ghost; a shade. 

  • An unconscious aspect of the personality. 

  • A trainee, assigned to work with an experienced officer. 

  • An imperfect and faint representation. 

How often have the words darken and shadow occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )