lugubrious
3
9.5
- adjective
- /luˈɡuːbriəs/
- Literature
:
lugubre
- In a low, somewhat lugubrious voice, Jimmie says, "Hi Mom, I miss you."
It was two years ago when the Oscars were particularly lugubrious that year.
- It was two years ago when the Oscars were particularly lugubrious that year.
Examples
-
Next to him, Kris said very softly, "The lugubrious associations attaching to it fill the imagination with indescribable melancholy."
Fiction book (2002) -
My father's imitation, though robust, rings with a kind of lugubrious loss.
Fiction book (2001) -
The earth under my feet as I went to him was very sticky, almost lugubrious, like the earth one sometimes encounters in dreams.
Fiction book (1997) -
A tugboat sounded its lugubrious horn somewhere on the black water.
Fiction book (1991) -
The music was thick and lush, slow, soaring, lugubrious.
Fiction book (2002) -
But despite the preprandial drinks and a fine dinner (duckling with cherry sauce), it was a lugubrious evening.
Fiction book (1992) -
O'Connor rolled his eyes and jerked his head slowly upward in a gesture of lugubrious disdain.
Fiction book (1999) -
Inadvertently, Basil glanced up at Sloan, standing silent and lugubrious just left of the dining room door.
Fiction book (2001) -
Dwight, Caroline, Skipper, Norma, Pearl, and Toby watch an Irish tenor sing a lugubrious ballad.
Fiction book (1993) -
He walked into the room with a lugubrious expression, capturing everyone's attention with his exaggerated sadness.
Synonyms
23
4.1
Looking or feeling sad and quiet
20
3.7
Feeling like you want to cry easily
15
7.9
Being quiet and unhappy and showing little interest in others
8
4.4
Feeling sad and quiet without much energy
3
8.2
Feeling or showing deep sadness
1
3.6
Having a sad look on the face
1
9.6
Looking very sad and worn out
1
9.9
Showing sadness or making people want to cry
Antonyms
How Sad
Surface Forms
Morphology
lugubrious = lugubri + ous
The combining form 'lugubri-' is not a standalone English word and the meaning is not transparently inferable from known English bases despite the productive suffix '-ous'.
Etymology
Lugubrious comes from the Latin word lugere, which means 'to mourn', and it is like the Spanish and French word lúgubre meaning 'gloomy'. So lugubrious describes someone or something that looks or sounds very sad, often in an exaggerated way.