somber

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“
The Dark Knight director Chris Nolan accepted the trophy on his behalf with what can only be described as a somber moment.

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Definitions (6)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (4)

  1. adjective Dark; gloomy.
  2. adjective Dull or dark in color.
  3. adjective Melancholy; dismal: a somber mood.
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Examples (50)

  • His expression somber, he took a deep breath and said, “I agree with Wallace: We should not risk separating the C-17s.” He paused, clearly forcing himself to continue. —  AnalogSFF,September2008
  • The Dark Knight director Chris Nolan accepted the trophy on his behalf with what can only be described as a somber moment. —  Hollyscoop Entertainment News
  • There was sort of a political time out on the campaign trail as Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain agreed to appear together at ground zero in New York for a somber, silent wreath-laying there. —  The News Tribune - Tacoma - Homepage
  • So you'd think the deliberation in Boston over who did the best work in film each year would be a somber, august, contentious symposium befitting the city's vision of itself as America's Athens. —  Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch
  • We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (due April 25), to be a somber, austere, —  Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

sombre ·  gloomy ·  mournful ·  sober ·  ominous ·  sullen ·  shadowy ·  dour ·  pensive ·  majestic ·  murky ·  dejected
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (1)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. French sombre, from Old French, from *sombrer, to cast a shadow, from Late Latin subumbrāre, from Latin sub umbrā, in shadow : sub, under; see sub- + umbrā, ablative of umbra, shadow.
 

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/ˈsɑmbər/
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