variants
or sombre
1
as in darkened
being without light or without much light
the prison's somber interrogation room has the desired effect of striking fear and despair into the prisoner
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bleak
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
the somber occasion of a dear friend's funeral
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of somber
Sixty-two years after that somber swearing-in, the central figures who were on board Air Force One have passed away, among them Johnson, his wife, Lady Bird, Jackie Kennedy and Hughes.
—
Susan Page, USA Today, 25 Oct. 2025
Kansas coach Lance Leipold walked to the podium for his postgame news conference with a somber look.
—Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 25 Oct. 2025
That’s because a somber cloud hung over the league on Thursday, after the arrests and federal indictments of an active player, Miami’s Terry Rozier, and a sitting head coach, Portland’s Chauncey Billups, in a wide-ranging FBI gambling investigation.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 24 Oct. 2025
Shot clandestinely and set for the most part in one somber Tehran apartment, Sacred Fig depicts a family of four whose patriarch, Iman (Misagh Zare), has just been named an investigating judge — a promotion that promises him both a bigger flat and a better place in Iran’s judicial hierarchy.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for somber
Susan Page, USA Today, 25 Oct. 2025
Kansas coach Lance Leipold walked to the podium for his postgame news conference with a somber look.
—Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 25 Oct. 2025
That’s because a somber cloud hung over the league on Thursday, after the arrests and federal indictments of an active player, Miami’s Terry Rozier, and a sitting head coach, Portland’s Chauncey Billups, in a wide-ranging FBI gambling investigation.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 24 Oct. 2025
Shot clandestinely and set for the most part in one somber Tehran apartment, Sacred Fig depicts a family of four whose patriarch, Iman (Misagh Zare), has just been named an investigating judge — a promotion that promises him both a bigger flat and a better place in Iran’s judicial hierarchy.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for somber
Recent Examples of Synonyms for somber
Adjective
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By becoming the light in a darkened world, everyone becomes a firefly that helps to illuminate the way back home to each other.—
Sergio Pereira,
Space.com,
29 Oct. 2025
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Over the weekend, around 16,000 people paid their respects to the designer at his funeral chamber at the Armani Teatro designed by Tadao Ando, filled with white flowers and paper lanterns on the floor in a diagonal grid formation dimly lit up the darkened venue.—
Luisa Zargani,
Footwear News,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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While the eradication of our species might sound like a bleak ending note, Lanthimos tells EW that audiences are divided on whether the film presents a hopeful or pessimistic view of the future.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
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Duffy painted a bleak scene at airports if the shutdown is not ended before Thanksgiving travel.—
Zachary Schermele,
USA Today,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos were looked at by many across the NFL as a dark-horse Super Bowl contender before the season started.—
Mark Kern,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
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Sor Juana’s verses confirm that venturing into the dating pool is always like stepping into a dark abyss.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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With interest growing significantly in recent years, attendees are reminded that this is a solemn event.—
Caitlin Looby,
jsonline.com,
4 Nov. 2025
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The elephants were more solemn and inward-looking than we are typically shown, the zebras startlingly intricate and finely drawn.—
AFAR Media,
AFAR Media,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The Philadelphia 76ers' immediate and medium-term future looked murky coming into this season.—
Robert Marvi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
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Still, Kenya’s longer-term political outlook just got a lot murkier, as the scramble to win over Odinga’s supporters will intensify in the months ahead.—
Ian Bremmer,
Time,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Soon, the entire room was awash with clippings, each detailing a different duplicitous scheme — a depressing reflection of how scam culture was taking over my country, eroding our trust in each other.—
Snigdha Poonam,
The Dial,
28 Oct. 2025
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Welcome to the most depressing engagement party of the century.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The film is set entirely at Sardi’s, the legendary Broadway haunt, where the drunken and depressive Hart is holding court at the bar.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
4 Nov. 2025
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Deliver Me from Nowhere focuses on Bruce Springsteen in the midst of a depressive episode, struggling to create something meaningful and finite, while suicidal ideation plays discordant sounds in his head.—
Richard Newby,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The touching dramedy centers on a lonely American actor (Brendan Fraser) who, after seven years living in Tokyo, still feels like an outsider.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
4 Nov. 2025
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Phantom Son will center on Ronnie, a young and struggling runaway taken in by Audrey (Zellweger), a lonely woman whose own son was kidnapped twenty years earlier.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Somber.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/somber. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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