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tenebrous

adjective

ˈte-nə-brəs How to pronounce tenebrous (audio)
Definition of tenebrousnext
1
as in darkened
being without light or without much light a tenebrous night with no moon

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dark
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer in the midst of those tenebrous days Thomas Paine penned the immortal words "These are the times that try men's souls"

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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 tenebrous Their flowers stand out like no others due to the backdrop of their tenebrous leaves. — Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 28 Mar. 2026 Her writing can be luminous or tenebrous as the mood requires. — The Know, Denver Post, 31 Aug. 2025 For all its darkness, Mujica Lainez’s Duke of Bomarzo is a lantern that illuminates the place and period that brought us modernity and, as such, our tenebrous but also brilliant little lives. — Literary Hub, 8 Aug. 2025 What tenebrous horror is this, emerging from the ineffable darkness? — Jon Chesto, BostonGlobe.com, 26 Dec. 2022 By the same token, Spanish cinema at large has been reluctant to engage with that tenebrous period. — Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2021 As in the 1610 version, Susanna is seated on a balustrade, but this time there is a tenebrous sky, rather than a clear blue one. — Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tenebrous
  1. darkened
  2. dark
  3. murky
  4. bleak
  5. somber
  6. lonely
  7. depressive
  8. desolate
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
  • Beaches emptied out and dark clouds swirled above choppy seas, while Mexican authorities temporarily suspended classes in a number of areas on Tuesday.
    — DESIREE BROOKS, Arkansas Online, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Set against these dark parts of the educational system, Lee convincingly casts hagwons as third spaces that advance the hopes of an entire community.
    — Sanjena Sathian, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of dark
Adjective
  • But there’s no mystery to it, no blurred edges or murky, resonant spaces of uncertainty.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Orders can be equivocal, statements ambiguous, instructions murky.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of murky
Adjective
  • Tonally, the film is torn between wanting to be brutally bleak and offering some kind of hope for Murphy and his precocious, adorable daughter.
    — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Max was born in 1937 in Berlin to German-Jewish parents who fled the city from the occupation of Nazis in 1938 to Shanghai, where the artist discovered bright colors, a stark contrast from his parents’ bleak past.
    — Hikmat Mohammed, ARTnews.com, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of bleak
Adjective
  • All parents struggle in some way to adjust to life as empty nesters, but Charlie leaves his mom and dad in a somber, reflective state that casts a heavy pall over an episode that drifts toward the turgid.
    — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The clubhouse was somewhat somber Friday afternoon, with players still feeling shaken up after witnessing one of the scariest collisions many had ever seen on a baseball field.
    — Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of somber
Adjective
  • If the rumors are true, the M6 could end up being a lonely chip.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 21 Sep. 2026
  • No one should have to endure a procedure as unsafe as hers, yet even safety doesn’t always guarantee respite from fear, pain, and grief—feelings that one-note sloganeering about empowerment relegate to a lonely darkness.
    — Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of lonely
Adjective
  • Research has found that low serotonin levels could lead to the return of clinically significant depressive symptoms in people who have depression.
    — Amber Raiken, Verywell Health, 18 Sep. 2026
  • This dichotomy, between depressive routine and the spark of something exciting, or even irksome, both informs each relationship, and clarifies (for the viewer) Arash’s state of mind the more his reasons are revealed.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of depressive
Adjective
  • With its fragile acoustic melodies, desolate lyrics, and spare, subtle studio accompaniment, Ride Lonesome is like Nick Drake’s mumble-folk masterpiece Bryter Layter as the work of a lovelorn Laurel Canyon soft-rock poet.
    — Jon Dolan, Rolling Stone, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Making matters worse, those same neighborhoods are some of the city’s most desolate transit deserts.
    — Al Sharpton, New York Daily News, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of desolate

Browse Nearby Words

tenebrific
tenebrous
tenement
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Cite this Entry

“Tenebrous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tenebrous. Accessed 24 Sep. 2026.

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