sombre

US somber

/ (ˈsɒmbə) /

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See synonyms for sombre on Thesaurus.com

adjective

dismal; melancholya sombre mood

dim, gloomy, or shadowy

(of colour, clothes, etc) sober, dull, or dark

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Derived forms of sombre

sombrely or US somberly, adverbsombreness or US somberness, nounsombrous (ˈsɒmbrəs), adjective

Word Origin for sombre

C18: from French, from Vulgar Latin subumbrāre (unattested) to shade, from Latin sub beneath + umbra shade

Words nearby sombre

somatotonia, somatotrophin, somatotropin, somatotype, somber, sombre, sombrero, sombrous, some, somebody, somebody up there loves me

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

How to use sombre in a sentence

To highlight them, Frum believes, would have been to make the book less amusing and more sombre.
The Spectator Reviews "Patriots"|David Frum|June 14, 2012|DAILY BEAST
His eyes became more sombre, looked suddenly as if even their material weight must have increased.
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens
The more his kind wife exerted herself to comfort him, the more obstinately he persisted in maintaining his own sombre views.
The World Before Them|Susanna Moodie
In quiet shade the sombre valley lay,While all the little hills around were clothedWith the soft lustre of the dewy moon.
The Poems of Giacomo Leopardi|Giacomo Leopardi

Thick clouds of smoke overcast the sky, shrouding the morning with sombre gray.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist|Alexander Berkman
If you can stand a few hours of talk from an old smacksman you may hear a sombre litany of horror.
The Chequers|James Runciman