tenebrous
adjective
Did you know?
Tenebrous means "obscure" or "murky," but there's nothing unclear about its history. Etymologists know that the word derives from the Latin noun tenebrae, which means "darkness." Tenebrous has been used in English since the 15th century, and in the 20th century it was joined by some interesting relations. Tenebrionid is the name of a nocturnal beetle that is usually dark-colored and is also called a darkling beetle. Tenebrism refers to a style of painting—associated with the Italian painter Caravaggio—in which most of the figures are engulfed in shadow but some are dramatically illuminated by concentrated light.
Synonyms
- black
- caliginous
- dark
- darkened
- darkish
- darkling
- darksome
- dim
- dimmed
- dusk
- dusky
- gloomy
- lightless
- murky
- obscure
- obscured
- pitch-black
- pitch-dark
- pitchy
- rayless
- somber
- sombre
- stygian
- tenebrific
- unlit
Example Sentences
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 Word History
Middle English tenebrose, tenebrus, borrowed from Anglo-French tenebreus, borrowed from Latin tenebrōsus, from tenebrae "darkness" + -ōsus -ous — more at tenebrae
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
tenebrous
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- darkened
- dark
- murky
- stygian
- dusky
- darksome
- lightless
- darkling
- black
- rayless
- dim
- obscured
- caliginous
- obscure
- unlit
- somber
- gloomy
- darkish
- dusk
- dimmed
- twilit
- sombre
- pitch-dark
- crepuscular
- pitchy
- moonless
- pitch-black
- starless
- shadowy
- sunless
- tenebrific
- misty
- gray
- shady
- leaden
- fuliginous
- pale
- clouded
- foggy
- befogged
- dulled
- cloudy
- beclouded
- grey
- lackluster
- dull
- smoggy
- shadowlike
- soupy
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- light
- luminous
- illumined
- illuminated
- lighted
- bright
- lucent
- brilliant
- shining
- lit
- lambent
- lucid
- lightsome
- incandescent
- effulgent
- sparkling
- radiant
- resplendent
- glowing
- brightened
- glaring
- alight
- beamy
- lustrous
- shiny
- beaming
- glossy
- moonlit
- aglitter
- agleam
- spotlit
- sunlit
- starlit
- moony
- ablaze
- highlighted
- ultrabright
- relucent
- spotlighted
- floodlit
- floodlighted
Synonyms & Similar Words
- dark
- darkening
- bleak
- somber
- depressive
- desolate
- lonely
- murky
- depressing
- solemn
- gray
- lonesome
- morbid
- saturnine
- black
- cold
- blue
- lugubrious
- funereal
- wretched
- cheerless
- sunless
- gloomy
- sullen
- morose
- sepulchral
- drear
- elegiac
- forlorn
- grey
- miserable
- chill
- comfortless
- godforsaken
- melancholy
- dismal
- dreary
- oppressive
- glum
- disconsolate
- dire
- sombre
- depressed
- dreich
- cloudy
- plutonian
- sad
- Cimmerian
- dim
- tenebrific
- melancholic
- woebegone
- elegiacal
- mournful
- desperate
- grim
- menacing
- discomfiting
- hangdog
- hopeless
- despondent
- dull
- mirthless
- dejected
- unhappy
- dispiriting
- distressful
- droopy
- woeful
- negative
- sorrowful
- distressing
- drab
- low
- down
- inconsolable
- dismaying
- discouraging
- plaintive
- louring
- colorless
- pessimistic
- upsetting
- lamentable
- dour
- disheartening
- threatening
- lowery
- lowering
- loury
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- bright
- cheerful
- festive
- comforting
- cheery
- friendly
- sunshiny
- gay
- buoyant
- cordial
- joyous
- merry
- mirthful
- jolly
- joyful
- blithe
- gay
- blithesome
- optimistic
- encouraging
- hopeful
- jocund
- cheering
- heartwarming
- lighthearted
- lightsome