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ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Dern

/ˈdɜː(ɹ)n/ · noun

Meaning

(obsolete) A secret; secrecy..

Definitions by Sense

  1. (obsolete) A secret; secrecy.
  2. (obsolete) A secret place; hiding.
  3. (obsolete) An obscure language.
  4. (obsolete) Darkness; obscurity.
  5. (obsolete, dialectal) Hidden; secret; private.
  6. (transitive, obsolete) To hide; secrete, as in a hole.
  7. (intransitive, obsolete) To hide oneself; skulk.
  8. (UK) A gatepost or doorpost.

Example Sentences

Now with their backs to the den's mouth they sit, / Yet shoulder not all light from the dern pit.
Through dreary beds of tangled fern, / Through groves of nightshade dark and dern.
He at length escaped them by derning himself in a fox-earth.
But look how soon they heard of Holoferne / Their courage quail'd, and they began to derne.
1855, Charles Kingsley, Westward Ho!, Ch. XIV, How Salvation Yeo Slew the King of the Gubbings So I just put my eye between the wall and the dern of the gate, and I saw him come up to the back door […]

Synonyms for dern

Antonyms for dern

Related Words

dearndurndelvedrearduellodegendouthdiscovertdichdubokdukerydighterderring-doerydepositumdorkdirthdarkeydepthedepthsdunny

Word Forms

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does dern mean?

Dern means (obsolete) A secret; secrecy..

What is a synonym for dern?

The closest synonym depends on the sentence and intended sense.

What is the opposite of dern?

The opposite depends on the specific sense.

How do you use dern in a sentence?

Now with their backs to the den's mouth they sit, / Yet shoulder not all light from the dern pit.

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.