benight

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}]
    

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]
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            The clouds benight the sky.           --Garth.
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   2. To overtake with night or darkness, especially before the
      end of a day's journey or task.
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            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.
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            Shall we to men benighted
            The lamp of life deny ?               --Heber.
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