tenebrous

Also te·neb·ri·ous

[ten-uh-bruhs]

adjective

1. dark; gloomy; obscure.

tenebrous

/ ˌtɛnəˈbrɒsɪtɪ, təˈnɛbrɪəs, ˈtɛnəbrəs /

adjective

1. gloomy, shadowy, or dark

Other Word Forms

• tenebrousness noun
• untenebrous adjective
• tenebrosity noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of tenebrous¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English word from Latin word tenebrōsus. See Tenebrae, -ous

Word History and Origins

Origin of tenebrous¹

C15: from Latin tenebrōsus from tenebrae darkness

Example Sentences

It opens with a D flat in the low strings, winds and brass, a tenebrous and flatly final sound incapable of being dislodged by the thwacks and thumps surrounding it.

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Antonaci’s tenebrous cinematography forces you to keep an eye on what lurks in the shadows that darken almost every scene, and it’s a thrill.

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By the same token, Spanish cinema at large has been reluctant to engage with that tenebrous period.

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This play, like many of Axis’s productions, mostly serves as a pretext for David Zeffren’s tenebrous lighting and Paul Carbonara’s ominous sound design.

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The shadowing is more tightly contained in Hsin-Hsi Chen’s intricate paper sculptures, whose multi-planar surfaces are covered with tenebrous graphite, charcoal, ink and paint.

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