variants
or sombre
1
: so shaded as to be dark and gloomy
2
b
: of a dismal or depressing character : melancholy
c
: conveying gloomy suggestions or ideas
3
: of a dull or heavy cast or shade : dark colored
somberly
adverb
somberness
noun
Examples of somber in a Sentence
Looking out at his audience, a somber mass of monks, Gregory gave Mary a new identity that would shape her image for fourteen hundred years.
—
Jonathan Darman, Newsweek, 29 May 2006
This year marks a somber anniversary—it was 150 years ago that humans wiped out the last survivors of this species. A relative of the razorbills and puffins, and about the size of a small goose, the great auk was black-bodied with a white underbelly, and walked erect, like a penguin.
—Bill Montevecchi, Natural History, August 1994
The purple darkness was filled with men who lectured and jabbered. Sometimes he could see them gesticulating against the blue and somber sky.
—Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage, 1895
Her death put us in a somber mood.
The movie is a somber portrait of life on the streets.
He wore a somber suit.
Jonathan Darman, Newsweek, 29 May 2006
This year marks a somber anniversary—it was 150 years ago that humans wiped out the last survivors of this species. A relative of the razorbills and puffins, and about the size of a small goose, the great auk was black-bodied with a white underbelly, and walked erect, like a penguin.
—Bill Montevecchi, Natural History, August 1994
The purple darkness was filled with men who lectured and jabbered. Sometimes he could see them gesticulating against the blue and somber sky.
—Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage, 1895
Her death put us in a somber mood.
The movie is a somber portrait of life on the streets.
He wore a somber suit.
Recent Examples on the Web
The cards show your heart has been waking back up from a deep and somber slumber to finally roar more loudly than ever in July.
—Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Oct. 2025
According to the tabloid site, the couple seemed more somber and tense than usual.
—Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 27 Sep. 2025
The mood on the ice and in the dressing room was somber Thursday when Barkov crumbled to the ice following a noncontact drill and had to be helped off the ice by two team staff members.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 27 Sep. 2025
But the American leaders who midwifed the UN as World War II was still raging were somber realists, not utopians.
—Andreas Kluth, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for somber
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Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Oct. 2025
According to the tabloid site, the couple seemed more somber and tense than usual.
—Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 27 Sep. 2025
The mood on the ice and in the dressing room was somber Thursday when Barkov crumbled to the ice following a noncontact drill and had to be helped off the ice by two team staff members.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 27 Sep. 2025
But the American leaders who midwifed the UN as World War II was still raging were somber realists, not utopians.
—Andreas Kluth, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for somber
Cite this Entry
“Somber.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/somber. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
somber
adjective
som·ber
variants
or sombre
1
: so shaded as to be dark and gloomy
2
: melancholy entry 2 sense 1, grave
a somber mood
3
: dull or dark colored
somberly
adverb
somberness
noun
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