Dusky is applied to objects which appear as if viewed in fading light; the word is often used, as are swart and swarthy, of the human skin when quite dark, or even verging toward black.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

dusky He was walking down the road one dusky evening.
sooty The dragon breathed fire and exhaled its sooty ashen remains.
swart Tom is the name of my swart warthog.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
swarthy		rising
dusky		steady
sooty		steady
swart		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: sad¹
4 letters: dark¹
5 letters: black¹, sable², dusky, sooty², swart¹
6 letters: brunet²

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (sable² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: bistré