From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishblackenblack‧en /ˈblækən/ verb 1 [intransitive, transitive]CC to become black, or to make something black The thunder became louder and the sky blackened.2 → blacken somebody’s name/character/reputation→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
blacken• The man looked into her eyes, now blackened, and into her sutured face.• Now that they stood in the light, Jehan could see that both of them were blackened by grime and oil.• It was distorted and blackened by the heat, but Charles knew immediately what it was.• A few people, their faces blackened by the smoke, ran out of the building.• Twisted, blackened corpses lie side-by-side on a cold-looking concrete floor.• His name blackened, his writings neglected, for two decades Nizan was allotted the role of loser.• He blackened one eye, left scratches up and down her neck and scraped the flesh off her hipbones.• So we sat hunched at our desks, blackening out the story and accompanying pictures. 