sombrous

English

Etymology

From French sombre +‎ -ous. Compare Spanish sombroso.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈsɒmbɹəs/

Adjective

sombrous (comparative more sombrous, superlative most sombrous)

1. Gloomy; sombre.
   • 1839, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Prelude:

     Before me rose an avenue / Of tall and sombrous pines; / Abroad their fan-like branches grew, / And, where the sunshine darted through, / Spread a vapor soft and blue, / In long and sloping lines.

   • 2001, WG Sebald, translated by Anthea Bell, Austerlitz, Penguin, published 2011, page 2:

     It was some time before my eyes became used to its artificial dusk, and I could make out the different animals leading their sombrous lives behind the glass by the light of a pale moon.

Related terms

• sombrously
• sombrousness

Anagrams

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