sombre
Dark, dull and serious in mood or colour.
sombre in a sentence
- Everyone wore sombre grey coats, and nobody spoke above a whisper.
- Before the storm, the sky turned a sombre grey and the whole beach felt gloomy.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to sombre?
- Agloomy
- Bcheerful
- Clively
- Dbright
Show the answer
A: gloomy. The other three mean the opposite of sombre.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to sombre?
- Adark
- Bbright
- Cgloomy
- Dserious
Show the answer
B: bright. The other three mean nearly the same as sombre.
Words that mean something similar
gloomy, dark, serious
Words that mean the opposite
bright, cheerful, lively
More words about light & dark
- twilight: The soft, dim light just after the sun goes down.
- beacon: A light or fire used as a signal that can be seen from far away.
- dazzle: To amaze someone with bright light or brilliance.
- dingy: Dark, dirty and a little gloomy.
- dismal: Dull, gloomy and miserable.
- gleam: To shine softly with light.
- glimmer: To shine with a faint, unsteady light; or that faint light.
- glisten: To shine and sparkle, often because something is wet.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test