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
  • Around them stand darkened houses, and uncollected trash piles up on the street.
    — Will Freeman, Foreign Affairs, 17 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Definition of darkened
Adjective
  • There’s nothing about the white bedding, dark-wood furniture, and tan carpeting that will knock your socks off—but nothing that will make your toes curl, either.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Guadagnino and screenwriter Simon Rich mold the material from dark humor through technocratic giddiness to sobering horror.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of dark
Adjective
  • As the camera focused on a star player making a touchdown or a slam dunk, the faces of the fans behind them would coalesce into a colorful, murky abstraction.
    — Ryan Sullivan, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Authorities continue to unpack the details around the harrowing incident, many of which remain murky.
    — Mitchell McCluskey, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of murky
Adjective
  • Whether or not this year takes the top slot in that bleak ranking is still unclear.
    — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Its successes have provided a spark of optimism in what has otherwise been a bleak few months for Ukraine.
    — Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of bleak
Adjective
  • Elderly couples surrounded us in somber ceremony, each of them in seats clustered close to one another, some holding hands, their fingers dusted in crumb cake.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Many social media users suggested Pearman may have missed the point of the somber experience of visiting a living memorial where one of history’s greatest atrocities occurred.
    — Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of somber
Adjective
  • Bilbao seems to be a central character in the film, sometimes portrayed as lonely, dark and gritty.
    — Roberto Prieto, Variety, 5 Oct. 2026
  • People report feeling less lonely after chatting with an AI companion, which resembles seeking comfort.
    — Pascal Vrticka, Scientific American, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of lonely
Adjective
  • Studies that followed African American adolescents and Latino/a adolescents have found a link between experiences of discrimination and depressive symptoms that linger years later.
    — Anahi Collado, The Conversation, 22 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Definition of depressive
Adjective
  • Along a desolate stretch of California desert highway, next to a ramshackle home, law enforcement officials on Wednesday dug for a second day in a search for bodies.
    — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
  • 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
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 8 Oct. 2026.

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