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lugubrious

[loo-goo-bree-uhs, -gyoo-]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lugubrious ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner: lugubrious songs of lost love.

RELATED WORDS

mournful, sorrowful, bleak, gloomy, pensive, sad, depressing, dismal, doleful, dour, funeral, morose, woebegone, woful

Origin of lugubrious

1595–1605; < Latin lūgubri(s) mournful (akin to lūgēre to mourn) + -ous
Related formslu·gu·bri·ous·ly, adverblu·gu·bri·ous·ness, lu·gu·bri·os·i·ty [luh-goo-bree-os-i-tee, -gyoo-] /ləˌgu briˈɒs ɪ ti, -ˌgyu-/, nounnon·lu·gu·bri·ous, adjectivenon·lu·gu·bri·ous·ly, adverbnon·lu·gu·bri·ous·ness, nounun·lu·gu·bri·ous, adjectiveun·lu·gu·bri·ous·ly, adverbun·lu·gu·bri·ous·ness, noun

Synonyms for lugubrious

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lugubrious ON THESAURUS.COM
sorrowful, melancholy.

Antonyms for lugubrious

cheerful.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lugubrious

Contemporary Examples of lugubrious

  • She is likely to shoehorn her pain into lugubrious scenarios that are perfect for country-music videos.

    The Daily Beast logo
    Battle of the Blondes

    Bryan Curtis

    January 28, 2010

  • Death is not a lugubrious occasion here, but more often a celebration of a life.

    The Daily Beast logo
    Islanders Eulogize Obama's 'Tutu'

    Paul Theroux

    November 4, 2008

Historical Examples of lugubrious

  • Miette, after a woman's fashion, was partial to lugubrious subjects.

  • But Aristide felt some doubts on the point; he had suspicions of some lugubrious farce.

  • He was too downcast even to sing one of his lugubrious hymns or to whistle.

    Shavings

    Joseph C. Lincoln

  • "It's darker in the grave," observed Captain Perez with lugubrious philosophy.

    Cap'n Eri

    Joseph Crosby Lincoln

  • Crane stared at the deceptive bag in the most lugubrious astonishment.

    The Young Miner

    Horatio Alger, Jr.

British Dictionary definitions for lugubrious

lugubrious

adjective

excessively mournful; doleful
Derived Formslugubriously, adverblugubriousness, noun

Word Origin for lugubrious

C17: from Latin lūgubris mournful, from lūgēre to grieve
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for lugubrious
adj.

c.1600, from Latin lugubris "mournful, pertaining to mourning," from lugere "to mourn," from PIE root *leug- "to break; to cause pain" (cf. Greek lygros "mournful, sad," Sanskrit rujati "breaks, torments," Lettish lauzit "to break the heart"). Related: Lugubriously; lugubriousness.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper