sombre
Britishadjective
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dismal; melancholy
a sombre mood
-
dim, gloomy, or shadowy
-
(of colour, clothes, etc) sober, dull, or dark
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sombre
C18: from French, from Vulgar Latin subumbrāre (unattested) to shade, from Latin sub beneath + umbra shade
Explanation
When you're sombre — or somber — you're acting glum, depressed, or sad. Being sombre is the opposite of being perky or happy. This is a word that has to do with the mood of a person or event. A funeral is going to be sombre, and the people at the funeral are usually pretty sombre, too. It's a quiet, serious, and even gloomy kind of feeling. Objects can look sombre if they're dull and colorless. Just don't get sombre and confused by the spelling: the "re" ending is a British thing, while Americans usually end it with "er."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The meetings of finance ministers such as the G20 breakfast were sombre affairs.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026
"When I came last time and went back to the hotel for breakfast it was so sombre and quiet," she said.
From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026
A minute's silence at 10:00 brought Kyiv to a halt on a sombre day for Ukraine, though on on which a sense of solidarity was palpable.
From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026
In the Soviet Union, sombre music was often broadcast when leaders fell ill or died.
From Barron's • Feb. 11, 2026
Unsurprisingly, church music was a rather more sombre affair, and the ordinary churchgoer prior to the Protestant Reformation is likely to have found singing in church a miserable, largely non- partidpatory activity.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
