dank
adjective
Synonyms
- damp
- dampish
- moist
- wettish
Example Sentences
Eric Lach, The New Yorker, 14 May 2022 In a dank home in the village of Malotaranivka on the outskirts of Kramatorsk, speckled twists of flypaper hung from the living room ceiling. Cara Anna, Anchorage Daily News, 26 July 2022 Every day, Ukrainian investigators step into a dank cellar or muddy field or someone’s backyard and discover bodies of villagers who were shot in the head or bear signs of torture. New York Times, 15 Apr. 2022 Others, especially the elderly, have nowhere else to go and hide in dank basement shelters. Washington Post, 7 May 2022 That’s right, Portland was the dank armpit, long before the coronavirus pandemic killed dozens of businesses and nightly protests wrecked downtown. oregonlive, 25 Apr. 2022 Rocks of the fragrant resin from the Amazonian Almacega tree, which is at the heart of Costa’s cult-favorite beauty brand, Costa Brazil, were burning at Casa Tua, giving the room the dank scent of jungle canopy envelopment. Celia Ellenberg, Vogue, 20 Apr. 2022 In one school, some 200 people took shelter in the dank confines of a basement, sleeping on mattresses laid over desks. Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2022 The intended effect of dank terror is undercut by the general lackadaisical aura hanging over everything. Kyle Smith, National Review, 1 Apr. 2022 See More Word History
Middle English danke
1573, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
dank
adjective
dank
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- damp
- moist
- humid
- dampish
- steeped
- dripping
- wettish
- misty
- soaked
- clammy
- soaking
- muggy
- dewy
- sodden
- saturated
- sweltering
- tropical
- soggy
- sticky
- washed
- waterlogged
- drenched
- sopping
- sultry
- bathed
- watered
- summery
- torrid
- awash
- saturate
- doused
- semimoist
- soppy
- soused
- water-soaked
- dowsed
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- dry
- arid
- dusty
- waterless
- burnt
- sunbaked
- droughty
- scorched
- desert
- sere
- parched
- dehydrated
- burned
- baked
- sear
- seared
- bone-dry
- watertight
- waterproof
- hyperarid
- ultradry
- water-repellent
- water-resistant
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of dank are damp, humid, moist, and wet. While all these words mean "covered or more or less soaked with liquid," dank implies a more distinctly disagreeable or unwholesome dampness.
In some situations, the words damp and dank are roughly equivalent. However, damp implies a slight or moderate absorption and often connotes an unpleasant degree of moisture.
The words humid and dank are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, humid applies to the presence of much water vapor in the air.
The words moist and dank can be used in similar contexts, but moist applies to what is slightly damp or not felt as dry.
The meanings of wet and dank largely overlap; however, wet usually implies saturation but may suggest a covering of a surface with water or something (such as paint) not yet dry.