English Explanatory Dictionary

sombre

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Dark; gloomy; shadowy, dimly lit.
  2. Dull or dark in colour or brightness.
  3. Melancholic, gloomy, dreary, dismal; grim.
  4. Grave; extremely serious.
noun
  1. Gloom; obscurity; duskiness.
verb
  1. To make sombre or dark; to make shady.

Pronunciation

/ˈsɒmbə/ /ˈsɑmbɚ/ /ˈsɒmbəɹ/ [sɔ̃ː.bɹ(ə)] en-us-somber.ogg En-us-sombre.ogg

Word forms

sombre sombrer sombrest somber sombres sombring sombred

Etymology

Borrowed from French sombre (“dark”), from Old French sombre, from a verb *sombrer or Latin sub- + umbra. Compare Spanish sombra (“shade; dark part of a picture; ghost”).

Synonyms

bleak dreary cheerless comfortless dark morose depressing desolate dire disconsolate dismal doleful dolesome drear drearisome dreich forlorn gayless gray gloomsome gloomy grim joyless lack-laughter lugubrious melancholy mirthless miserable no joke saturnine solemn somber sombre spiritless sullen sunless uncheerful uncheery unhappy unmerry wintry woeful fuscous inky blear caliginous cimmerian crepuscular darksome darkling dim dimpsy dingy dull dusky fuliginous infernal leaden lightless mirksome

Derived words

sombrely sombreness sombre rock chat sombresome sombre tit somber tit sombrish unsombre
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