1
as in darkened
being without light or without much light
a tenebrous night with no moon
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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"
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 tenebrous
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
Natalie Erika James' assured first feature demonstrates bracing command of atmospherics, from its tenebrous visuals and labyrinthine production design to its nerve-jangling use of music and a thick soundscape stew of bumps, creaks, thuds and groans.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Jan. 2020
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
Natalie Erika James' assured first feature demonstrates bracing command of atmospherics, from its tenebrous visuals and labyrinthine production design to its nerve-jangling use of music and a thick soundscape stew of bumps, creaks, thuds and groans.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Jan. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tenebrous
Adjective
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
The Philadelphia 76ers' immediate and medium-term future looked murky coming into this season.—
Robert Marvi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
-
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
-
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
-
Duffy painted a bleak scene at airports if the shutdown is not ended before Thanksgiving travel.—
Zachary Schermele,
USA Today,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The 29th edition of the fest is showing off its usual rich selection of progressive programming to be sure, but in terms of emotion, one viewer told co-directors Hilary Powell and Dan Edelstyn, films here are usually more about getting angry or perhaps somber.—
Will Tizard,
Variety,
31 Oct. 2025
-
Elsewhere in the interview, Eilish discussed the music industry’s initial doubt that her introspective, more somber (and at times devastating) songs wouldn’t appeal to a wide audience.—
Charisma Madarang,
Rolling Stone,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
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
Adjective
-
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
-
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
-
Bir Tawil, for instance — a desolate parcel of desert on the Egyptian-Sudanese border.—
Richard Collett,
CNN Money,
29 Oct. 2025
-
To find the killer, Sherlock Holmes and Watson will have to brave desolate moors before a family curse dooms the newest heirs.—
Meredith G. White,
AZCentral.com,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tenebrous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tenebrous. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share