tenebrous

[ ten-uh-bruhs ]
See synonyms for tenebrous on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. dark; gloomy; obscure.

Origin of tenebrous

1
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English word from Latin word tenebrōsus.See Tenebrae, -ous
  • Also te·neb·ri·ous [tuh-neb-ree-uhs]. /təˈnɛb ri əs/.

Other words from tenebrous

  • ten·e·brous·ness, noun
  • un·ten·e·brous, adjective

Words Nearby tenebrous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use tenebrous in a sentence

  • The Republicans, however, sat with tenebrous expressions that matched the black curtain hiding their legs.

    My Birthday With Sonia | Lucinda Franks | July 25, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • I can't recall any other detail, but the whole atmosphere was tenebrous and sinister.

    The Capgras Shift | Sam Vaknin
  • Winged things that were not bats swooped and fluttered in the tenebrous air, whispering sibilantly—whispering in human voices.

    The Secret of Kralitz | Henry Kuttner
  • The room was well illuminated with gas, whatever might be going on in the streets; to no tenebrous repast were we invited.

    Glories of Spain | Charles W. Wood
  • Our town was indeed but one vast hospital—orderly, subdued, and tenebrous.

  • Never had she looked to Ray so like an eagle, so keen, so fierce, so fit for braving either sun or tenebrous cavern.

    The Precipice | Elia Wilkinson Peattie

British Dictionary definitions for tenebrous

tenebrous

tenebrious (təˈnɛbrɪəs)

/ (ˈtɛnəbrəs) /


adjective
  1. gloomy, shadowy, or dark

Origin of tenebrous

1
C15: from Latin tenebrōsus from tenebrae darkness

Derived forms of tenebrous

  • tenebrosity (ˌtɛnəˈbrɒsɪtɪ), tenebrousness or tenebriousness, noun

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