lugubrious
adjective
lu·gu·bri·ous lu̇-ˈgü-brē-əs 
also -ˈgyü-
1
: mournful
especially : exaggeratedly or affectedly (see affected entry 2 sense 1a) mournful
dark, dramatic and lugubrious brooding 
V. S. Pritchett
V. S. Pritchett the tour de force of lugubrious cliche is ten times longer than this review Martin Amis
Martin Amis 2
: dismal
a lugubrious landscape
lugubrious cello music
lugubriously adverb
lugubriousness noun
Did you know?
Lugubrious Has Latin Roots
Lugubrious is the sole surviving English offspring of Latin lugēre, meaning "to mourn." Its closest kin, luctual, an adjective meaning "sad" or "sorrowful," was put to rest centuries ago.
Synonyms
- black
- bleak
- cheerless
- chill
- Cimmerian
- cloudy
- cold
- comfortless
- dark
- darkening
- depressing
- depressive
- desolate
- dire
- disconsolate
- dismal
- drear
- dreary
- dreich [chiefly Scottish]
- elegiac
- elegiacal
- forlorn
- funereal
- gloomy
- glum
- godforsaken
- gray
- grey
- lonely
- lonesome
- miserable
- morbid
- morose
- murky
- plutonian
- saturnine
- sepulchral
- solemn
- somber
- sombre
- sullen
- sunless
- tenebrific
- tenebrous
- wretched
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
a comic actor known for his lugubrious manner the diner's dim lighting makes eating there a particularly lugubrious experience
Recent Examples on the Web The film is in part lugubrious in its longing for obsolescent objects, in its yearning for years before iPhones (with which the crisis of the film would otherwise be more easily solved). Dini Adanurani, Variety, 9 Aug. 2022 Part of the problem: the generally lugubrious choice of musical material. New York Times, 13 June 2022 Wall Street’s lugubrious mood dragged into Friday, with the major U.S. indexes on track to extend their losses a day after registering their steepest slump since the beginning of the pandemic. Washington Post, 6 May 2022 The boom-and-bust border economy birthed a lugubrious landscape where homes suffer water shortages and bodies of missing persons turn up. New York Times, 23 Mar. 2022 Black Milk’s lugubrious boom-bap also scores the group’s commentary on our pandemic present and pro-marijuana rhetoric informed by their respective forays into the cannabis industry. Max Bell, SPIN, 17 Mar. 2022 Another facet of the exhibit featured a section on its rather lugubrious-looking, brooding Romanesque Revival red-brick headquarters at Calvert and Redwood streets. Frederick N. Rasmussen, baltimoresun.com, 16 Mar. 2022 So do many of the images, the lugubrious pace and the direction throughout. WSJ, 9 Feb. 2022 So do many of the images, the lugubrious pace and the direction throughout. WSJ, 9 Feb. 2022 See More
Dini Adanurani, Variety, 9 Aug. 2022 Part of the problem: the generally lugubrious choice of musical material. New York Times, 13 June 2022 Wall Street’s lugubrious mood dragged into Friday, with the major U.S. indexes on track to extend their losses a day after registering their steepest slump since the beginning of the pandemic. Washington Post, 6 May 2022 The boom-and-bust border economy birthed a lugubrious landscape where homes suffer water shortages and bodies of missing persons turn up. New York Times, 23 Mar. 2022 Black Milk’s lugubrious boom-bap also scores the group’s commentary on our pandemic present and pro-marijuana rhetoric informed by their respective forays into the cannabis industry. Max Bell, SPIN, 17 Mar. 2022 Another facet of the exhibit featured a section on its rather lugubrious-looking, brooding Romanesque Revival red-brick headquarters at Calvert and Redwood streets. Frederick N. Rasmussen, baltimoresun.com, 16 Mar. 2022 So do many of the images, the lugubrious pace and the direction throughout. WSJ, 9 Feb. 2022 So do many of the images, the lugubrious pace and the direction throughout. WSJ, 9 Feb. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Latin lugubris, from lugēre to mourn; akin to Greek lygros mournful
First Known Use
1585, in the meaning defined at sense 1
lugubrious
adjective
1
as in somber
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer the diner's dim lighting makes eating there a particularly lugubrious experience Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- somber
- bleak
- depressive
- depressing
- dark
- darkening
- lonely
- solemn
- desolate
- morbid
- murky
- lonesome
- morose
- gray
- funereal
- gloomy
- miserable
- cold
- glum
- elegiac
- wretched
- cheerless
- sepulchral
- sullen
- melancholy
- dreary
- saturnine
- blue
- dismal
- depressed
- black
- disconsolate
- sad
- forlorn
- sombre
- drear
- oppressive
- chill
- dire
- grey
- godforsaken
- tenebrous
- mournful
- comfortless
- cloudy
- melancholic
- woebegone
- mirthless
- sunless
- dreich
- elegiacal
- plutonian
- unhappy
- dull
- grim
- dejected
- hangdog
- desperate
- hopeless
- dispiriting
- woeful
- distressful
- sorrowful
- dim
- menacing
- discomfiting
- pessimistic
- dismaying
- tenebrific
- negative
- plaintive
- discouraging
- lamentable
- inconsolable
- despondent
- droopy
- dour
- Cimmerian
- upsetting
- disheartening
- low
- distressing
- drab
- down
- colorless
- threatening
- louring
- lowering
- lowery
- loury
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- cheerful
- cheery
- friendly
- festive
- joyous
- bright
- jolly
- mirthful
- joyful
- buoyant
- cordial
- gay
- sunshiny
- merry
- comforting
- blithe
- optimistic
- gay
- hopeful
- blithesome
- heartwarming
- jocund
- encouraging
- cheering
- lighthearted
- lightsome
2
as in mournful
expressing or suggesting mourning in Victorian times, people who could affect particularly lugubrious expressions were hired to march in funeral processions as professional mourners Synonyms & Similar Words
- mournful
- funeral
- weeping
- heartbroken
- melancholy
- doleful
- bitter
- wailing
- sorrowful
- grieving
- dolorous
- lamentable
- somber
- anguished
- sad
- plaintive
- tearful
- agonized
- rueful
- plangent
- funereal
- unhappy
- woeful
- regretful
- sorry
- morbid
- aching
- depressed
- bleak
- bewailing
- dark
- deploring
- bemoaning
- elegiac
- keening
- crying
- gloomy
- pathetic
- woebegone
- glum
- moody
- miserable
- dolesome
- groaning
- disconsolate
- downcast
- dejected
- morose
- dispirited
- darkening
- forlorn
- moaning
- downcast
- careworn
- gloomy
- crestfallen
- downhearted
- glum
- desolate
- heartsick
- cheerless
- inconsolable
- despondent
- sullen
- downhearted
- miserable
- joyless
- dreary
- saturnine
- gray
- howling
- dismal
- wretched
- piteous
- pessimistic
- sombre
- elegiacal
- triste
- black
- heartsore
- bawling
- bleeding
- low-spirited
- low
- suffering
- dirgelike
- yammering
- brokenhearted
- comfortless
- grey
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- joyful
- triumphant
- cheerful
- cheery
- happy
- bright
- joyous
- jolly
- delighted
- mirthful
- smiling
- buoyant
- merry
- blithe
- lighthearted
- laughing
- exulting
- blissful
- optimistic
- rejoicing
- hopeful
- blithesome
- rhapsodic
- rapturous
- glorying
- encouraging
- ecstatic
- euphoric
- cheering
- giddy
- jocund
- heady
- rhapsodical
- exhilarated
- elated