The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms INTRO ...

econdite, arcane, obscure: She took her dark secret to the
grave. 7 hidden, concealed, secret, occult, mystic(al),
cryptic: The true reason for his leaving was always kept dark
in the family. 8 brunette; black, swarthy, brown; (sun)tanned,
Old-fashioned swart: One is fair with dark hair, the other has
dark skin. 9 ignorant, unenlightened, benighted: Our culture
passed through a dark phase before the Renaissance.
--n. 10 night, night-time, nightfall: We waited till dark to
make good our escape. 11 darkness, blackness, gloom,
gloominess, murk, murkiness: At fifty, isn't he a bit old to be
afraid of the dark? 12 obscurity, ignorance: She was always
kept in the dark about his true identity.
darling n. 1 sweetheart, beloved, love, dear, dearest, true-love: She
insists on buying all her darling's clothes. 2 pet, favourite,
apple of one's eye, Brit blue-eyed boy; US fair-haired boy:
Frank might have been the black sheep of the family, but he was
always his mother's darling.
--adj. 3 beloved, loved, cherished, adored, dear, precious,
treasured: He travelled everywhere with his darling niece. 4
pleasing, fetching, attractive, adorable, enchanting, lovely,
alluring, engaging, bewitching, charming: Josephine was wearing
a darling frock she'd just bought at the Corner Boutique.
dash v. 1 crash, smash, shatter, break, shiver, fragment, split;
destroy, ruin, spoil, frustrate, obliterate: The mirror was
dashed to smithereens when it fell. The ship didn't see our
raft, and our hopes of rescue were dashed. 2 hurl, toss, throw,
fling, cast, pitch, Colloq chuck: We drank a toast, then dashed
our glasses into the fireplace. 3 rush, run, dart, spring,
bolt, bound, race, sprint; hasten, fly, hurry, speed: I'll have
to dash to catch my train. 4 dash off. scribble: I've just
dashed off a note to mother.
--n. 5 dart, bolt, rush, run, spurt, spring, bound, sprint: He
made a dash for the door but it was too late. 6 flourish, ‚lan,
flair, liveliness, style, panache, spirit, brio, verve, zest,
spice; ardour, fervour, vigour, energy: She is known for her
beauty as well as her dash and courage. 7 bit, pinch, soup‡on,
hint, suggestion, touch, trace, tinge, taste, drop, piece,
Colloq smidgen or smidgin, US tad: Add a dash of nutmeg at the