stygian

adjective

ˈsti-j(ē-)ən How to pronounce stygian (audio)
Definition of stygiannext
as in darkened
being without light or without much light lost in the stygian reaches of the deep forest

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 stygian But the film that follows — luminously ashen where too many recent movies and TV shows have just been irritatingly dim — is flooded with a moonlight so lucid and alive that even the story’s most stygian moments might as well have been set at high noon. — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 2 Dec. 2024 On the credit side of the ledger, the stygian interior decor is brightened at night by the neonesque instrument and secondary-control lighting—blue and red—and the cabin is commendably quiet at most operating speeds. — Tony Swan, Car and Driver, 3 June 2023 In the last half of 1934, glimmers of daylight peaked through the stygian blackness and, and 1935, the downward trajectory began to reverse itself and tick upward. — Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Mar. 2023 Predators that eat the banana-sized birds include peregrine falcons, stygian owls and arboreal snakes. — Jill Langlois, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Feb. 2023 Did this rodent revenant cross a stygian void to haunt us yet again? — Jon Chesto, BostonGlobe.com, 26 Dec. 2022 Streaks should start cutting through the stygian sky starting at midnight. — Joe Mario Pedersen, orlandosentinel.com, 11 Aug. 2021 When his tiny friend Trinket devises a scheme for their escape from the orphanage, Arthur embarks on a quest through a wild wood and into the stygian corridors of a subterranean city to solve the mystery of his origins. — Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 29 Sep. 2017 After a five-minute ride through the stygian darkness, the barge eases up to a low dock. — Wayne Curtis, WIRED, 30 May 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stygian
  1. darkened
  2. dark
  3. murky
  4. black
Adjective
  • This trend has been pretty pervasive among designer bags recently, with shoppers buying new Prada and Chanel bags with darkened leather to give them a used look, or sourcing vintage Celine bags with obvious signs of wear.
    — Irene Richardson, InStyle, 2 July 2026
  • She’s talked up her push to convert darkened streetlights, many of them stripped of their copper wire, to solar power.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2026
Definition of darkened
Adjective
  • Aerial footage showed heavy damage to the suspect's vehicle, a dark gray sedan.
    — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 14 July 2026
  • They're headed to a battery recycler who will shred them into a fine, dark powder called black mass, from which those minerals can be recovered and reused in new batteries.
    — Camila Domonoske, NPR, 13 July 2026
Definition of dark
Adjective
  • With Jagger’s vocals often buried deep in the muddy and murky mix, the album initially sounds like a druggy demo.
    — Marc Ballon, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026
  • Additional flights of the Zhuque-3 and Long March 12A are likely to come soon, although the scheduling is murky because of China’s tendency to stay tight-lipped about the specifics of its future plans.
    — Lee Billings, Scientific American, 10 July 2026
Definition of murky
Adjective
  • The impact sends the black car crashing into Garden Gourmet Deli and Grill on the corner.
    — Jenna DeAngelis, CBS News, 13 July 2026
  • On a balmy June evening, a crowd of vampire obsessives descended upon the Upper West Side’s Beacon Theatre in a sea of black and red.
    — Hannah Giorgis Yohannes, Vanity Fair, 13 July 2026
Definition of black

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sty
stygian
style
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Cite this Entry

“Stygian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stygian. Accessed 15 Jul. 2026.

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