Dim definition

(1) Lacking in light; not bright or harsh

"A dim light beside the bed"

"Subdued lights and soft music"

(2) Made dim or less bright

"The dimmed houselights brought a hush of anticipation"

"Dimmed headlights"

"We like dimmed lights when we have dinner"

(3) 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"

(4) 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"

(5) 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"

(6) Become vague or indistinct

"The distinction between the two theories blurred"

(7) Make dim by comparison or conceal

(8) Make dim or lusterless

"Time had dimmed the silver"

(9) Become dim or lusterless

"The lights dimmed and the curtain rose"

(10) Become or make darker

"The screen darkened"

"He darkened the colors by adding brown"

(11) Switch (a car's headlights) from a higher to a lower beam