Thesaurus
variants:
or sombre
Synonyms & Antonyms of somber
1
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 for somber
Words Related to somber
Near Antonyms for somber
- ablaze,
- agleam,
- aglitter,
- alight,
- beaming,
- beamy,
- effulgent,
- glaring,
- glowing,
- incandescent,
- lambent,
- radiant,
- relucent,
- resplendent,
- shining,
- sparkling
- floodlit
- (also floodlighted),
- highlighted,
- spotlighted
- (or spotlit)
Antonyms for somber
2
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
- the somber occasion of a dear friend's funeral
Synonyms for somber
- black,
- bleak,
- cheerless,
- chill,
- Cimmerian,
- cloudy,
- cold,
- comfortless,
- dark,
- darkening,
- depressing,
- depressive,
- desolate,
- dire,
- disconsolate,
- dismal,
- drear,
- dreary,
- dreich
- [chiefly Scottish],
- elegiac
- (also elegiacal),
- forlorn,
- funereal,
- gloomy,
- glum,
- godforsaken,
- gray
- (also grey),
- lonely,
- lonesome,
- lugubrious,
- miserable,
- morbid,
- morose,
- murky,
- plutonian,
- saturnine,
- sepulchral,
- solemn,
- sullen,
- sunless,
- tenebrific,
- tenebrous,
- wretched
Words Related to somber
- blue,
- dejected,
- depressed,
- despondent,
- down,
- droopy,
- hangdog,
- inconsolable,
- low,
- melancholic,
- melancholy,
- mirthless,
- sad,
- unhappy,
- woebegone,
- woeful
- dim,
- discomfiting,
- discouraging,
- disheartening,
- dismaying,
- dispiriting,
- distressful,
- distressing,
- upsetting
- dour,
- grim,
- lowering
- (also louring),
- lowery
- (also loury),
- menacing,
- negative,
- oppressive,
- threatening
Near Antonyms for somber
Antonyms for somber
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
Test Your Vocabulary
Slippery Words Quiz—Changing with the Times
- What is an earlier meaning of nice?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
A daily challenge for crossword fanatics.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
Slippery Words Quiz—Changing with the Times
Do you know these earlier meanings of words?
Take the quizWords of Snow and Ice Quiz
A selection of words from the chillier parts of t...
Take the quizTrue or False?
Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something a...
Take the quizWord Winder's CrossWinder Play the game
Share somber
Time Traveler for somber
The first known use of somber was in 1760
See more words from the same year