1
as in somber
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
the diner's dim lighting makes eating there a particularly lugubrious experience
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in mournful
expressing or suggesting mourning
in Victorian times, people who could affect particularly lugubrious expressions were hired to march in funeral processions as professional mourners
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lugubrious
On occasion, especially as the film builds to its lugubrious finale, Mielants tries other tricks, simulating long tracking shots that seem to glide through the school and then out onto the grounds.
—
Richard Lawson, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2025
The legacy relaunch — originally titled Superman: Legacy when the project was announced in 2023 — represents a stark departure from writer-director Zack Snyder’s comparatively lugubrious, Zod-killing superhero deconstruction Man of Steel (2013).
—Chris Lee, Vulture, 14 July 2025
Some movie-goers love that sort of lugubrious, meditative filmmaking, some not so much, but either way — and to paraphrase Carly Simon — nobody does it better.
—Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 28 June 2025
In one lugubrious sequence in which various members of Willie’s children’s generation take part in a pickleball tournament, the young men attempt to trash-talk one another.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 1 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for lugubrious
Richard Lawson, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2025
The legacy relaunch — originally titled Superman: Legacy when the project was announced in 2023 — represents a stark departure from writer-director Zack Snyder’s comparatively lugubrious, Zod-killing superhero deconstruction Man of Steel (2013).
—Chris Lee, Vulture, 14 July 2025
Some movie-goers love that sort of lugubrious, meditative filmmaking, some not so much, but either way — and to paraphrase Carly Simon — nobody does it better.
—Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 28 June 2025
In one lugubrious sequence in which various members of Willie’s children’s generation take part in a pickleball tournament, the young men attempt to trash-talk one another.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 1 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for lugubrious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lugubrious
Adjective
-
This is a somber, aching sequence for Bernthal, which Storer shoots from down at his and Ireland’s level, in a long take that is now customary for this show.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
5 May 2026
-
When Francophiles aligned with Jefferson wore tricolor cockades, Washington’s men responded with sombre black ones.—
Daniel Immerwahr,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
Adjective
-
The plaintive melodies are mournful yet comforting.—
Michelle F. Solomon,
Miami Herald,
12 May 2026
-
The ambient-dub duo returns with a warm and mournful new record that seems to spend most of its runtime fading in and out.—
Philip Sherburne,
Pitchfork,
6 May 2026
Adjective
-
The job market is showing intermittent signs of recovery after a bleak 2025.—
Paul Wiseman,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2026
-
The outlook appeared so bleak that Alexey Miranchuk gestured to the heavens and said, if the team could acquire help from a higher power and get a road win, maybe the ship could be steered in the right direction.—
Amna Subhan,
AJC.com,
7 May 2026
Adjective
-
And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.—
David Mamet,
National Review,
11 Aug. 2022
-
The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.—
Helen Shaw,
Vulture,
8 Dec. 2021
Adjective
-
During my second pregnancy and for more than a year after giving birth to my second child, depressive periods ebbed and flowed, growing deeper and longer each time.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 May 2026
-
McLarty and Walker shift from depressive introspection to giggling reminiscences.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
4 May 2026
Adjective
-
The GoFundMe states that Maxence’s family is seeking help with funeral arrangements and other unexpected expenses following the tragedy.—
Staff Author,
PEOPLE,
9 May 2026
-
Elba Sandoval, mother and grandmother of the victims, created a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral costs.—
Ruben Vives,
Los Angeles Times,
6 May 2026
Adjective
-
The rooms In darker hues with lots of hardwood and colorful fabrics, the rooms here don’t fall into your standard contemporary look.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
12 May 2026
-
Forty-four of the 89 counties along Route 66 were sundown towns, communities where it was encouraged for Black people to leave before dark — or else.—
Jasmine Desiree,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
Adjective
-
So, understandably, they were left heartbroken after discovering the dog had escaped his yard on Chicago's Northwest Side.—
Escher Walcott,
PEOPLE,
13 May 2026
-
The Beckhams, who sold their crash pad in One Museum Tower in downtown Miami, but maintain a spec house in Miami Beach, are said to be heartbroken about the estrangement.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
13 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Lugubrious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lugubrious. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
