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
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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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lugubrious
Despite its lugubrious atmosphere, the characters’ problems could now be cleared up with some penicillin and, say, a book club.
—
Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2025
Look at picture No. 107 in the exhibition of 1874: another of Morisot’s lugubrious bourgeois bachelorettes.
—The Learning Network, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2025
The locker room was far from lugubrious following an indicting 114-98 loss Tuesday to the weary and mediocre Miami Heat.
—Marcus Thompson Ii, The Athletic, 8 Jan. 2025
Thus, the adaptation is a dialogue-heavy film (and not only by comparison with its silent forebear, which indeed has dialogue, in the form of intertitles) and a sluggish, lugubrious one.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for lugubrious
Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2025
Look at picture No. 107 in the exhibition of 1874: another of Morisot’s lugubrious bourgeois bachelorettes.
—The Learning Network, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2025
The locker room was far from lugubrious following an indicting 114-98 loss Tuesday to the weary and mediocre Miami Heat.
—Marcus Thompson Ii, The Athletic, 8 Jan. 2025
Thus, the adaptation is a dialogue-heavy film (and not only by comparison with its silent forebear, which indeed has dialogue, in the form of intertitles) and a sluggish, lugubrious one.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for lugubrious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lugubrious
Adjective
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The somber financial picture leaves the city caught between cutting services to the public and finding a way to raise money.—
Luis Melecio-Zambrano,
Mercury News,
5 June 2025
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The incident caused a somber scene near home plate, as Yankees teammates, coaches and personnel huddled around the always-affable 26-year-old before an ambulance took him off the field and to a nearby hospital.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
5 June 2025
Adjective
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The Defender published several obituaries, mournful but proud.—
Victor Luckerson,
Smithsonian Magazine,
13 May 2025
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Trump, meanwhile, drew the public’s attention for wearing a dark blue suit and a lighter blue tie in a sea of mournful black attire.—
Darlene Superville,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The somewhat bleak outlook was laid bare Tuesday night after the USMNT was thrashed 4-0 by Switzerland during a friendly in Nashville.—
Ben Church,
CNN Money,
11 June 2025
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Instead of learning from this bleak recent history, Americans are now painfully absorbing this lesson by repeating it.—
Jonathan Haskel,
Foreign Affairs,
10 June 2025
Adjective
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And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.—
David Mamet,
National Review,
11 Aug. 2022
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The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.—
Helen Shaw,
Vulture,
8 Dec. 2021
Adjective
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Men with moderate or severe depressive symptoms were 62% times more likely to use intimate partner violence by 2022 compared to those who had not had these symptoms, while men with suicidal thoughts, plans or attempts were 47% times as likely, the study found.—
Lex Harvey,
CNN Money,
5 June 2025
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Additionally, those with restrictive calorie diets reported higher numbers of depressive symptoms, including low mood, low energy and sleep disturbances.—
Charna Flam,
People.com,
5 June 2025
Adjective
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Bright red ribbons decorate the trees and signposts of northwest suburban Niles in anticipation of a funeral procession and service today to honor Chicago Fire Department Capt. David Meyer, who was killed last week while battling a suspicious garage fire in the Austin neighborhood.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Apr. 2025
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The funeral Mass for Pope Francis was attended by many world leaders including President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump.—
Mike Snider,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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All that matters is whether Dance Mom, a character designed in a lab to be a depressing punchline, pulls in just enough of the always-online demo to boost their numbers among younger viewers.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
30 May 2025
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Music was a way to showcase something that wasn’t depressing.—
Ramin Setoodeh,
Variety,
28 May 2025
Adjective
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The second track on the LP told the story of a heartbroken barmaid pining after a sailor who refused to give up his nomadically maritime lifestyle for her.—
Josh Weiss,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2025
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Courtesy of Lionsgate The heartbroken little girl with the ballerina music box will grow up to be Ana de Armas’ Eve Macarro, a young woman bent on—what else?—avenging her father’s murder.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
6 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lugubrious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lugubrious. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.
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