sombre
English · Français · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
sombre
- /ˈsɒmbə/ UK
- /ˈsɑmbɚ/ US
- /ˈsɒmbəɹ/ Canada
- [sɔ̃ː.bɹ(ə)] Canada
Rhymes with -ɒmbə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
Borrowed from French sombre (“dark”), from Old French sombre, from a verb *sombrer or Latin sub- + umbra. Compare Spanish sombra (“shade; dark part of a picture; ghost”).
adjective sombrer · sombrest · somber
-
Dark; gloomy; shadowy, dimly lit.
The lady led him into a sombre hallway and disappeared. A moment later the windowless chamber was illuminated by the entry of a heavenly creature emitting a radiance prone to pierce the heart of any youth exposed to it.
Similar: bleak, dreary, cheerless, comfortless, dark, morose, depressing, desolate, dire, disconsolate, dismal, doleful
-
Dull or dark in colour or brightness.
His tall and slender figure, dressed in sombre black, his hair of that peculiar reddish auburn so rarely seen, his flashing black eyes, in which a fitful fire seemed for ever burning; all combined to give something almost of a demoniac air ...
Similar: fuscous, inky, adumbral, blear, caliginous, cimmerian, crepuscular, dark, darksome, darkling, dim, dimpsy
-
Melancholic, gloomy, dreary, dismal; grim.
The dinner was silent and sombre; happily it was also short.
Similar: despondent, unhappy, atrabiliary, atrabilious, blitheless, dispirited, blue, bummed out, chapfallen, cheerless, chopfallen, crestfallen
-
Grave; extremely serious.
a sombre situation
Similar: earnest, staid, austere, frightful, demure, serious, grave, grievous, lack-laughter, thoughtful, sad, sage
noun somber
- Gloom; obscurity; duskiness.
verb sombres · sombring · sombred · somber
- To make sombre or dark; to make shady.
Translations
Every language
adj dark; gloomy, dimly lit
| Español | sombrío |
|---|---|
| Português | escuro, sombrio, lúgubre, soturno |
| Français | sombre |
| Deutsch | dunkel, düster, finster, trübe |
| Русский | мра́чный mráčnyj, па́смурный pásmurnyj, хму́рый xmúryj |
adj dull or dark in colour
| Español | sombrío |
|---|---|
| Português | escuro, sombrio |
| Français | sombre |
| Deutsch | matt, stumpf, dunkel, finster, trüb, trübe |
| Русский | мра́чный mráčnyj, тёмный tjómnyj |
| עברית | קוֹדֵר qodér |
adj melancholic; dismal
| Español | sombrío |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 薄暗い usugurai, 重苦しい omokurushii |
| 中文 | 陰沉 /阴沉 yīnchén, 陰鬱 /阴郁 yīnyù |
| Português | sombrio |
| Français | sombre |
| Deutsch | verhalten, trübe, freudlos, traurig, düster, finster |
| Русский | мра́чный mráčnyj, па́смурный pásmurnyj, хму́рый xmúryj, угрю́мый ugrjúmyj, уны́лый unýlyj |
| עברית | נוּגֶה nugé |
adj grave
| Français | sombre |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | ernst, schwerwiegend |
| Русский | непростой neprostoj, трудный trudnyj |
Talk about this word "sombre." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sombre. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. sombre. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sombre "sombre." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sombre.Cite this
@misc{sombre_2026,
title = {sombre},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sombre},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
