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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Recent Examples of lugubrious
Their happy haberdashery stands in sharp contrast to their lugubrious lyrics.
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David Holahan, Hartford Courant, 2 Feb. 2024
Nobody says surfing the web anymore, but at the time the phrase made sense as a description of the lugubrious, often frustrating task of finding entertainment.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2024
The pop approach to music and politics is no less solemn than the lugubrious 1982 biopic Gandhi.
—Armond White, National Review, 16 Feb. 2024
The leading men are, likewise, a study in contrasts: Fiennes’s Macbeth is a hulking, lugubrious presence, whereas Tennant’s is a gaunt, energetic bundle of angst.
—Houman Barekat, New York Times, 19 Dec. 2023
See all Example Sentences for lugubrious 
David Holahan, Hartford Courant, 2 Feb. 2024
Nobody says surfing the web anymore, but at the time the phrase made sense as a description of the lugubrious, often frustrating task of finding entertainment.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2024
The pop approach to music and politics is no less solemn than the lugubrious 1982 biopic Gandhi.
—Armond White, National Review, 16 Feb. 2024
The leading men are, likewise, a study in contrasts: Fiennes’s Macbeth is a hulking, lugubrious presence, whereas Tennant’s is a gaunt, energetic bundle of angst.
—Houman Barekat, New York Times, 19 Dec. 2023
See all Example Sentences for lugubrious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lugubrious
Adjective
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Less than two weeks after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, an Army-Navy football game played in front of a crowd of 102,000 spectators at Philadelphia’s Municipal Stadium on December 7, 1963, might have been a subdued and somber affair.Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Dec. 2024
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Back in the locker room and away from the field where the Patriots lost a not-as-close-as-it-sounds 34-15 game, the mood wasn’t somber.Chad Graff, The Athletic, 24 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Very few directors working today can put across a movie like Gladiator II as convincingly, which perhaps explains why the sequel — for all its barbaric violence and the plaintive, at times stirring, discussions about justice and democracy — doesn’t have the mournful quality that the first film did.Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 22 Nov. 2024
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Russell Crowe beating people to death in a soulful, mournful way?Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 20 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Their story could have been told myriad ways and, if the current TV market had anything to say about it: the best way to tell any true crime is to be as bleak, haunting and gory as possible.Ed Herro, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Dec. 2024
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In recent years, people have taken to social media arguing that, while the film might be visually appealing, its underlying message is bleak.John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 6 Dec. 2024
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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Yet another was that depressive symptoms were self-reported, whereas clinical diagnosis is the gold standard for depression assessment.New Atlas, New Atlas, 9 Dec. 2024
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Those who overestimated positive emotions, rather than focusing on negative ones, reported better well-being, fewer depressive symptoms and greater resilience.Mark Travers, Forbes, 7 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Dido, after her lover Aeneas deserts her, kills herself with his sword on a funeral pyre, but not before building an effigy of him to burn alongside her.Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2024
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The Associated Press reported that the funeral location was not made public in advance to prevent a large crowd from gathering.Nardine Saad, Los Angeles Times, 20 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Two of the movies feature both Adams and Julianne Moore, and what’s really depressing is that such a phenomenal pairing got wasted on hapless material.Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2024
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And seeing even a preview of that was so depressing for me.Okla Jones, Essence, 4 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Dog Breeds For Your Perfect Match By Brian Dillon Home & Travel Reporter 0 A dog that chewed through a wall to see its owner has left the internet heartbroken.Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
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Madison is flawless in these closing scenes: stunned, heartbroken, unable to respond to the tentative romantic gestures of a Russian henchman who's taken a shine to her.Tom Gliatto, People.com, 11 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Lugubrious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lugubrious. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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