Word of the Day
: September 23, 2023

\TEN-uh-brus\ adjective

What It Means

Tenebrous is a formal word that is often used as a synonym of gloomy. It also can be used to describe dark, unlit places (as in “the tenebrous abyss”) or things that are difficult to understand (as in “a tenebrous tangle of lies”).

// The neighborhood children made sure never to approach the abandoned mansion, which sat tenebrous and foreboding at the top of the hill.

// A horror film seems incomplete without someone running through a tenebrous forest or alley.

See the entry >

tenebrous in Context

All Merriam-Webster content is available at www.merriam-webster.com