sombre
Syllables: som·breUK/ˈsɒmbə//ˈsɑmbɚ/
sombre adjective: dark; gloomy; shadowy, dimly lit.
Adjective
sombre (comparative sombrer, superlative sombrest)
- Dark; gloomy; shadowy, dimly lit.
- The lady led him into a sombre hallway and disappeared. A moment later the windowless chamber was illuminated by the entry of a heavenly creature emitting a radiance prone to pierce the heart of any youth exposed to it.2015, Hermann Kauders, Before The Cock Crows, →ISBN, page 9
- All three parallel valleys of the Llynvi, Garw and Ogmore are much the same in physical character: the lower reaches are wooded and not unattractive, but as the railway climbs on ever-steepening grades, the hills on either hand grow barer and closer together, while in all respects the scene becomes...1955 July, D. S. Barrie, “Railways of the Bridgend District”, in Railway Magazine, page 449
- Synonyms:
- bleak, dreary, cheerless, comfortless, dark, morose, depressing, desolate, dire, disconsolate
- Dull or dark in colour or brightness.
- His tall and slender figure, dressed in sombre black, his hair of that peculiar reddish auburn so rarely seen, his flashing black eyes, in which a fitful fire seemed for ever burning; all combined to give something almost of a demoniac air ...1877, The Black Band; or, The Mysteries of Midnight, page 47
- Synonyms:
- fuscous, inky, adumbral, blear, caliginous, cimmerian, crepuscular, dark, darksome, darkling
- Melancholic, gloomy, dreary, dismal; grim.
- The dinner was silent and sombre; happily it was also short.1845, B[enjamin] Disraeli, Sybil; or The Two Nations. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC
- It was a wonder that he had not been a victim of the ferocious and summary executions which marked the course of that tyranny; for Guzman had ruled the country with the sombre imbecility of political fanaticism.1904 January 29 – October 7, Joseph Conrad, Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard, London; New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers […], published 1904, →OCLC
- Synonyms:
- despondent, unhappy, atrabiliary, atrabilious, blitheless, dispirited, blue, bummed out, chapfallen, cheerless
- Grave; extremely serious.
- a sombre situation
- Synonyms:
- earnest, staid, austere, frightful, demure, serious, grave, grievous, lack-laughter, thoughtful
Noun
sombre (uncountable)
Verb
sombre (third-person singular simple present sombres, present participle sombring, simple past and past participle sombred)
- To make sombre or dark; to make shady.
sombre meaning in Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Persian
sombre in Telugu
- sombre
- మసక masaka
sombre in Malayalam
- drab, dark, dull
- ഇരുണ്ട, കറുത്ത, ഇരുളടഞ്ഞ, ഇളംകറുപ്പായ, ധൂസരമായ, വിവർണ്ണമായ
- earnest, solemn, serious
- ഗൗരവമുള്ള, ആത്മാർത്ഥതയുള്ള, ഗംഭീരമായ, ഗൗരവം കലർന്ന, ഗുരുവായ, അക്ഷുബ്ധമായ
sombre in Kannada
- ಖಿನ್ನ, ವಿಷಣ್ಣ, ಮಂಕಾದ, ನಿರುತ್ಸಾಹಕರ, ಮಸುಕಾದ, ಕಪ್ಪಾದ
sombre in Persian
- dark; gloomy, dimly lit
- تاریک، محزون
Synonyms of sombre
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of sombre
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | sombrer |
| superlative | sombrest |
| alternative US | somber |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | sombres |
| present participle | sombring |
| past participle | sombred |
| past | sombred |
Origin of sombre
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”).
Words formed from sombre
Phrases with sombre
Questions about sombre
- What does sombre mean?
- Sombre means dark; gloomy; shadowy, dimly lit.
- What is sombre in Telugu?
- Sombre in Telugu is మసక (masaka). See Sombre meaning in Telugu.
- What part of speech is sombre?
- Sombre can be an adjective, a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce sombre?
- Sombre is pronounced /ˈsɒmbə/ (UK).
Words near sombre in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: sombre (page history and authors); మసక (Telugu) (page history and authors); sombre (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); sombre (Kannada Wiktionary) (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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-somber.ogg.
Cite this entry: “sombre.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sombre. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.