Word.ws English Dictionary

penumbrous

UK/pɪˈnʌmbɹəs/

penumbrous adjective: partially shaded.

Adjective

penumbrous (comparative more penumbrous, superlative most penumbrous)

  1. Partially shaded.
    • the penumbrous calm of the cathedral interior
  2. Vague; ill-defined; unclear.
    • Yet such Commissions were awarded, and far more frequently than might be supposed in view of the infinitely wider gulf—both social and educational—which divided the eighteenth-century Officer from the rank and file, than the penumbrous border line which separates them today.1951, Reginald Hargreaves, This Happy Breed: Sidelights on Soldiers and Soldiering, page 237
    • Everyone knows God in his penumbrous knowledge of common esse.1961, Gerard Smith, Lottie H. Kendzierski, The philosophy of being: Metaphysics I, page 326

Forms of penumbrous

comparativemore penumbrous
superlativemost penumbrous

Origin of penumbrous

From penumbra + -ous.

Questions about penumbrous

What does penumbrous mean?
Penumbrous means partially shaded.
What part of speech is penumbrous?
Penumbrous is an adjective.
How do you pronounce penumbrous?
Penumbrous is pronounced /pɪˈnʌmbɹəs/ (UK).

Words near penumbrous in the dictionary

  1. penumbra
  2. penumbrae
  3. penumbral
  4. penumbrally
  5. penumbras
  6. penumbrous
  7. penumbræ
  8. Penunuri
  9. Penunuris
  10. penup
  11. penups

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: penumbrous (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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