sombre

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. adjective lacking brightness or color; dull
  2. adjective grave or even gloomy in character

Etymology

Borrowed from French sombre (“dark”), from Old French sombre, from a verb *sombrer or Latin sub- + umbra. Compare Spanish sombra (“shade; dark part of a picture; ghost”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

drab, sober, somber

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