Word.ws English Dictionary

subfusc

/sʌbˈfʌsk/

subfusc adjective: having subdued colors.

Adjective

subfusc (comparative more subfusc, superlative most subfusc)

  1. Having subdued colors.
    • And I notice that we are both decently sub-fusc. Have you seen Trimmer in that frightful frock like a canary lampshade?1935, Dorothy L. Sayers, Gaudy Night
    • The courtiers tramping across the green eye the: [the Duke of] Suffolk with his big beard, his flashing eye, his big chest, and Master Secretary [Thomas Cromwell] subfusc, low-slung, square.2020, Hilary Mantel, The Mirror and the Light, London: Fourth Estate, page 6

Noun

subfusc (usually uncountable, plural subfuscs)

  1. (usually) Dark clothing.
  2. (usually) Clothing acceptable, by regulation at certain universities, for an examination or official event.
  3. (usually, Oxford University) Formal clothing worn on special academic occasions.

Forms of subfusc

Adjective
comparativemore subfusc
superlativemost subfusc
Noun
pluralsubfuscs

Origin of subfusc

From Latin subfuscus (“moderately dark”).

Words that rhyme with subfusc

Questions about subfusc

What does subfusc mean?
Subfusc means having subdued colors.
What part of speech is subfusc?
Subfusc can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce subfusc?
Subfusc is pronounced /sʌbˈfʌsk/.

Words near subfusc in the dictionary

  1. subfunctors
  2. subfund
  3. subfunds
  4. subfurcate
  5. subfurfuraceous
  6. subfusc
  7. subfuscous
  8. subfuscs
  9. subfusiform
  10. subfusk
  11. subfusoid

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: subfusc (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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Cite this entry: “subfusc.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/subfusc. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.