as in blackly
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Recent Examples of darkly
The darkly comic horror-thriller stars Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien as coworkers stranded on a desert island.
—
Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 1 Feb. 2026
Shot on gorgeous 35mm film, this darkly comedic horror flick is a nostalgic cinephile's dream.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Jan. 2026
Good intentions run into craven expectations, however, and invariably, the types of terrible choices and consequences that, in Soto’s admirably unsentimental narrative style, wouldn’t be out of place in either a silent-era disaster comedy or a darkly tragic indie.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
The series proceeds from a premise that immediately calls to mind the darkly comic horror movie The Substance, an underdog 2024 Best Picture contender that earned Oscar nominations for both its director, Coralie Fargeat, and its star, Demi Moore.
—Judy Berman, Time, 30 Jan. 2026
The darkly comedic drama confronts reality, privacy, and the delusions fueling our ever-changing world.
—Denise Petski, Deadline, 29 Jan. 2026
The Oslo musician’s debut album is a darkly glamorous blur of trip-hop and dance pop, with copious reverb and Auto-Tune as stand-ins for yearning, uneasiness, and irresolution.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 22 Jan. 2026
Written by Zach Kanin and directed by Alice Mathias, the commercial featured an emotional farewell that took a darkly comedic turn when Chazmo’s attempt to return home went hilariously wrong — all while clutching a bag of Totino’s Pizza Rolls.
—Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 21 Jan. 2026
In this darkly comic folk tale, Olivia Colman also stars as a spinster fisherwoman fighting for her relationship with Skarsgård who stars as a literal tree.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 21 Jan. 2026
Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 1 Feb. 2026
Shot on gorgeous 35mm film, this darkly comedic horror flick is a nostalgic cinephile's dream.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Jan. 2026
Good intentions run into craven expectations, however, and invariably, the types of terrible choices and consequences that, in Soto’s admirably unsentimental narrative style, wouldn’t be out of place in either a silent-era disaster comedy or a darkly tragic indie.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
The series proceeds from a premise that immediately calls to mind the darkly comic horror movie The Substance, an underdog 2024 Best Picture contender that earned Oscar nominations for both its director, Coralie Fargeat, and its star, Demi Moore.
—Judy Berman, Time, 30 Jan. 2026
The darkly comedic drama confronts reality, privacy, and the delusions fueling our ever-changing world.
—Denise Petski, Deadline, 29 Jan. 2026
The Oslo musician’s debut album is a darkly glamorous blur of trip-hop and dance pop, with copious reverb and Auto-Tune as stand-ins for yearning, uneasiness, and irresolution.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 22 Jan. 2026
Written by Zach Kanin and directed by Alice Mathias, the commercial featured an emotional farewell that took a darkly comedic turn when Chazmo’s attempt to return home went hilariously wrong — all while clutching a bag of Totino’s Pizza Rolls.
—Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 21 Jan. 2026
In this darkly comic folk tale, Olivia Colman also stars as a spinster fisherwoman fighting for her relationship with Skarsgård who stars as a literal tree.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 21 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for darkly
Adverb
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What at first appears to be a run-of-the-mill trauma drama about a family dealing with the eldest child’s anorexia nervosa gradually evolves into something odder and more original, even blackly comic, in Ungrateful Beings.—
Leslie Felperin,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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As a light dusting of snow fell over Minneapolis Sunday morning, community members lit candles, laid fresh flowers and stood somberly around a makeshift vigil at the site of Pretti’s death.—
Michael Biesecker,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Jan. 2026
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In October, family, friends and community members somberly walked out of the courthouse, disappointed to learn the resentencing hearing for Rhoades would be delayed.—
Kayla Moeller,
CBS News,
20 Dec. 2025
Adverb
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Look pessimistically, and perhaps the inexperience is too much of a barrier.—
Jake Ciely,
New York Times,
20 Aug. 2025
Adverb
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Instead, Republican staffers sullenly reported to messaging meetings to talk about immigration.—
Michael Scherer,
The Atlantic,
7 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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In this regard, ICE and the federal government have failed dismally.—
The Atlantic,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the conservative nonprofit American Action Forum, has watched glumly as Republicans have drifted away from their small-government traditions.—
David M. Drucker,
Twin Cities,
19 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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The pipeline of new antibiotics remains distressingly thin, and most drugs currently in development are structurally similar to existing antibiotics, potentially limiting their effectiveness.—
André O. Hudson,
The Conversation,
21 Jan. 2026
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That can be forgiven thanks to the film’s evocative imagery and the emotional resonance of its central themes, distressingly familiar to anyone who has ever lost themselves in a relationship.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
10 Dec. 2025
Adverb
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These athletes run dozens of miles, generally in the heat, at altitude, or in bad weather, up and down mountains, all while attempting, sometimes miserably, to eat and drink enough to keep going.—
Dan England,
Outside,
5 Feb. 2026
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Brown then tried to ride the anti-tax, spending-limit movement into the White House two years later — but failed miserably.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
15 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Darkly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/darkly. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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