• Listen

  What it means

  Literally “bright obscurity,” this is a legal and psychological term for a state of clouded consciousness — a brief episode where a person acts without full awareness or rational control. In everyday speech it is used ironically when someone claims they didn’t know what they were doing, serving as a convenient excuse for foolish or regrettable behaviour.

  Vocabulary

  • pomroczność — obscurity, dimness, clouding (of the mind)
  • jasna — bright, clear (adjective, feminine form)

  Grammar note

  A noun phrase: pomroczność (feminine noun, nominative) + jasna (feminine adjective, nominative). The apparent contradiction — bright obscurity — is intentional.

  Cultural context

  The term appears in Polish criminal law as a defence of diminished responsibility, which is why it is often invoked satirically after someone does something foolish and then claims ignorance.

  Advanced

Noticed a typo, a wrong translation, or anything that doesn't look right? We'd love to fix it — just let us know via the contact page. Thank you!