sepia

1 of 2

noun

se·​pia ˈsē-pē-ə How to pronounce sepia (audio)
1
a
: a brown melanin-containing pigment from the ink of cuttlefishes
b
: the inky secretion of a cuttlefish
2
: a print or photograph of a brown color resembling sepia
3
: a brownish-gray to dark olive-brown color

sepia

2 of 2

adjective

1
: made of or done in sepia
2
: of the color sepia

Examples of sepia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The sun turned blood-red or was all but blotted out, disappearing along with the city skyline; the sky turned gray, or sepia, or eerily tangerine, and ash floated down like snow. Brooke Jarvis, New York Times, 21 Oct. 2023 The woman in the sepia toned photo from the 1890s appears dark complected. Nora Mathison, Scientific American, 28 Sep. 2023 For pale skin, this can mean sepia browns, while medium and olive skin tones can go for milk chocolate shades. Georgia Day, Vogue, 11 Oct. 2023 My most satisfying encounter with pasta here was orecchiette, ear shapes that caught drops of creamy-tasting parmesan sauce and crumbles of fennel pork sausage, sepia tones contrasted with bright broccoli rabe — a common pasta combination done right. Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 25 Aug. 2023 The viewers come in neutral shades of gray and sepia, as well as in capri blue. Michelle Matthews | Mmatthews@al.com, al, 20 July 2023 For homes nestled amid lush green landscaping, try a rich chocolaty brown such as Behr's Natural Bark, while warm sepia tones like Über Umber by Sherwin-Williams look great on homes in more arid climates. Elizabeth Sweet, Better Homes & Gardens, 12 June 2023 However, this time her videos were mostly shot out in nature in the fall with a misty or sepia filter, evoking the comfort, warmth, and nostalgia attached to the fall and winter seasons. Sophie Flaxman, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 July 2023 Every day is a new adventure with a sepia filter while your songs play in the background, a music video of wild experiences for your bandmates to reflect upon later in life with nostalgia. Autumn Micketti, SPIN, 4 May 2023
Adjective
Polley and cinematographer Luc Montpellier shoot the story in a muted palette, not quite sepia but not quite color either, reflecting the limited world of its characters. Lindsey Bahr, Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2023 The harsh, desaturated look of Luc Montpellier’s cinematography — not quite black-and-white, not quite sepia — establishes an ambiance of persistent, disorienting unreality. Justin Changfilm Critic, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2022 The sepia fog turned to bright colors and deep shadows in the late-afternoon sun. Robert Gauthierstaff Photographer, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2022 The sepia blowups of crab fisherman, outside and in, are especially arresting. Washington Post, 14 May 2021 Cyclists have always adapted to a variety of terrain, as those old, sepia-tone photographs of the Tour de France from the early 1900s will attest. Brion O’Connor, BostonGlobe.com, 10 July 2019 All the group has to go on is an old, wallet-sized sepia photograph. San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 June 2019 In fact, the first half of the movie is a mostly plotless, sepia-tone slog, whose copious scenes of tree-chopping, pillow talk and creepy cult rituals prompted a handful of fest-goers to walk out. Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 21 Jan. 2018 But Lepp, who lives in Seattle and has a background in film and the gaming industry, has so much more invested in these sepia panels, and so many stories to tell. Steve Duin, OregonLive.com, 1 Feb. 2018 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sepia.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Latin, cuttlefish, ink, from Greek sēpia

First Known Use

Noun

1821, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1827, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of sepia was in 1821

Dictionary Entries Near sepia

Cite this Entry

“Sepia.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sepia. Accessed 8 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

sepia

1 of 2 noun
se·​pia ˈsē-pē-ə How to pronounce sepia (audio)
1
: a brown pigment made from the ink of cuttlefishes
2
: a brownish gray

sepia

2 of 2 adjective
: of the color sepia

Medical Definition

sepia

noun
se·​pia ˈsē-pē-ə How to pronounce sepia (audio)
1
capitalized : a genus (the type of the family Sepiidae) of oval-bodied cephalopods that comprise the cuttlefishes and have a saclike organ containing a dark fluid and an internal shell mostly of calcium carbonate which has been used as an antacid and in tooth and polishing powders
2
: the inky secretion of a cuttlefish or a brown pigment from it

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