Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Somber character, appearance, or state; darkness; gloominess.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The quality or state of being somber; gloominess.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The state or quality of being somber.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a manner that is serious and solemn
  • noun a feeling of melancholy apprehension
  • noun a state of partial or total darkness

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From somber +‎ -ness

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Examples

  • The black hollow of its disused portal looked out from shadows which acquired some of their somberness from the tragic memories connected with its empty void.

    The Filigree Ball 1903

  • Life might easily come to be sober to somberness, which is a thing unwholesome and undesirable.

    A Hero and Some Other Folks 1892

  • "This Life is a Mist," the first track, starts the album off in a very mellow and transcending mood while evoking emotions of somberness, which is distinctly used to create an uprising of emotion throughout the rest of the album.

    The Purdue Exponent 2010

  • He likened the mood of the waterfront park to visiting Pearl Harbor, where he was struck by the location's somberness.

    In N.J., a More Modest Memorial Laura Raskin 2011

  • There was a mix of somberness of and celebration near Ground Zero, where a new tower is rapidly becoming part of the city's skyline.

    U.S. Forces Kill Osama bin Laden Laura Meckler 2011

  • Suddenly the dreamseller put aside his somberness, changed to a more pleasant tone and climbed on top of an armchair beside him and called out:

    Dreamseller: The Calling Augusto Cury 2011

  • Suddenly the dreamseller put aside his somberness, changed to a more pleasant tone and climbed on top of an armchair beside him and called out:

    Dreamseller: The Calling Augusto Cury 2011

  • Like the set's jet-black New York City skyline, looming behind candy-colored, graffiti-textured rooms and streets, a strain of somberness runs through "Locomotion," the moving and extraordinarily well-acted children's production at the Kennedy Center Family Theater.

    Theater review of 'Locomotion' at the Kennedy Center Family Theater Celia Wren 2010

  • As 2011 comes to an end, I feel a somberness lying heavy on the world.

    Nancy Chuda: To Invent Fire Nancy Chuda 2011

  • As 2011 comes to an end, I feel a somberness lying heavy on the world.

    Nancy Chuda: To Invent Fire Nancy Chuda 2011

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