also: づくめ
entirely; completely; nothing but
Suffix attached to nouns to mean 'entirely that thing' or 'nothing but that'. Often used in set phrases like 黒ずくめ (all black), いいことずくめ (nothing but good things), ごちそうずくめ (a feast of delicacies).
Today was a day of nothing but good things.
He showed up dressed entirely in black.
だらけ always carries a negative sense of being overrun by something unpleasant, whereas ずくめ just means 'nothing but' a single thing and can be neutral or even positive (黒ずくめ, いいことずくめ).
Kana spelling is standard; the kanji form 尽くめ is rare and not commonly used.
Rendaku variant used after certain nouns, e.g., 黒ずくめ (くろずくめ).
Kanji spelling is rare; kana is preferred.
Derived from the verb 尽くす (つくす, 'to exhaust, to use up'), with the suffix め. The exact derivation is uncertain, but it conveys the idea of being completely filled with or consisting of something.