sepulchral

adjective

se·​pul·​chral sə-ˈpəl-krəl 

 also  -ˈpu̇l-

1

: of or relating to a sepulchre

sepulchral inscriptions

2

: suited to or suggestive of a sepulchre : funereal

spoke in sepulchral whispers

sepulchrally

sə-ˈpəl-krə-lē 

 also  -ˈpu̇l-

adverb

Synonyms

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

Examples of sepulchral in a Sentence

the decrepit mansion had a sepulchral tone that gave everyone a chill

Recent Examples on the Web

For the occasion, the Shed’s Griffin Theater greets guests with an antechamber cast in sepulchral light and hung with wall size images from Sakamoto’s life. —Max Lakin, New York Times, 25 June 2023

The lighting is sepulchral, the air dank. —Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2020

Wolverine Blues saw Swedish death-metal pioneers Entombed slowing down and adding a rock and roll swagger to their grisly, sepulchral sound, and in the process realizing some of their most memorable material. —Hank Shteamer, SPIN, 24 Jan. 2023

Morse was tall and thin and as gray and sepulchral as a church about to be condemned. —Krista Stevens, Longreads, 2 Feb. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1615, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

sepulchral

adjective

se·​pul·​chral sə-ˈpəl-krəl 

1

: of or relating to the burial of the dead

2

: dismal sense 1, gloomy