tenebrific

adjective

ten·​e·​brif·​ic ˌte-nə-ˈbri-fik 

1

: gloomy

2

: causing gloom or darkness

Synonyms

• black
• caliginous
• dark
• darkened
• darkish
• darkling
• darksome
• dim
• dimmed
• dusk
• dusky
• gloomy
• lightless
• murky
• obscure
• obscured
• pitch-black
• pitch-dark
• pitchy
• rayless
• somber
• sombre
• stygian
• tenebrous
• unlit

Examples of tenebrific in a Sentence

a man unexpectedly emerged from the tenebrific shadows of the cave

soldiers who had lived for months in the tenebrific trenches that stretched along the western front

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin tenebrae "darkness" + Latin -i- -i- + -ficus -fic — more at tenebrae

First Known Use

1785, in the meaning defined at sense 1