Cimmerian

¹Cim·me·ri·an

adjective \sə-ˈmir-ē-ən\

Definition of CIMMERIAN

: very dark or gloomy <under ebon shades … in dark Cimmerian desert ever dwell — John Milton>

Examples of CIMMERIAN

1. <a wealthy recluse who lived in Cimmerian isolation in a decaying Victorian mansion>

First Known Use of CIMMERIAN

1580

Related to CIMMERIAN

Synonyms

black, bleak, cheerless, chill, gloomy, cloudy, cold, comfortless, dark, darkening, depressing, depressive, desolate, dire, disconsolate, dismal, drear, dreary, dreich [chiefly Scottish], elegiac (also elegiacal), forlorn, funereal, glum, godforsaken, gray (also grey), lonely, lonesome, lugubrious, miserable, morbid, morose, murky, plutonian, saturnine, sepulchral, solemn, somber (or sombre), sullen, sunless, tenebrific, tenebrous, wretched

Antonyms

bright, cheerful, cheering, cheery, comforting, cordial, festive, friendly, gay, heartwarming, sunshiny

Related Words

blue, dejected, depressed, despondent, disconsolate, down, droopy, hangdog, inconsolable, low, melancholic, melancholy, mirthless, sad, unhappy, woebegone, woeful; dim, discomfiting, discouraging, disheartening, dismaying, dispiriting, distressful, distressing, upsetting; desperate, hopeless, pessimistic; lamentable, mournful, plaintive, sorrowful; colorless, drab, dull; dour, grim, lowering (also louring), lowery (also loury), menacing, negative, oppressive, threatening

Near Antonyms

blithe, blithesome, buoyant, gay, jocund, jolly, joyful, joyous, merry, mirthful; encouraging, hopeful, optimistic; lighthearted, lightsome

Rhymes with CIMMERIAN

Adlerian, Algerian, Assyrian, Chaucerian, Faulknerian, Forsterian, Hesperian, Hitlerian, Hutterian, Hyperion, Iberian, Illyrian, Keplerian, Liberian, Mahlerian, Mousterian, Nigerian, Pierian, Shakespearean, Siberian, Skinnerian, Spencerian, Spenserian, Spenglerian, Sumerian, valerian, Valerian, Wagnerian, Weberian, Whistlerian

²Cimmerian

noun

Definition of CIMMERIAN

: any of a mythical people described by Homer as dwelling in a remote realm of mist and gloom

Origin of CIMMERIAN

Latin Cimmerii, a mythical people, from Greek Kimmerioi

First Known Use: 1584

Cimmerian

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Any member of an ancient people living north of the Caucasus and the Sea of Azov. Their origins are obscure; linguistically they are usually regarded as Thracian or Iranian. Driven by the Scythians out of southern Russia and over the Caucasus, they entered Anatolia toward the end of the 8th century BC. In 696–695 BC they conquered Phrygia. They reached the summit of their power in 652 after taking Sardis, capital of Lydia. Their decline soon began, and their final defeat may be dated from 637 or 626, when they were routed by Alyattes of Lydia.