Benighten

/bɪˈnaɪtən/ verb

Definition

To make benighted; to plunge into darkness or ignorance; a rare variant of benight.

Etymology

A variant or alternative form of benight, with the -en suffix sometimes added to verbs. This form is extremely rare and barely documented in English.

Kelly Says

Benighten is like a word that English considered using but then decided against—it's technically constructed correctly but so rarely used that it's practically invisible in the language, showing how some potential words never catch on.

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.