Tenebrous

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈtɛn.ɪ.bɹəs/

Definitions

1. Dark, shadowy, or obscure; characterized by darkness or gloom
2. Filled with thick darkness or deep shadow that obscures vision and creates an atmosphere of mystery or foreboding
3. Pertaining to or resembling the deepest nighttime obscurity, where light struggles to penetrate and visibility becomes nearly impossible

Etymology: Latin "tenebrae" meant "darkness" or "shadows," and it was plural in form, a detail that shaped the family of words built from it. From it came the adjective "tenebrosus," meaning full of darkness. That Latin adjective passed into Anglo-Norman as "tenebrous" (earlier "tenebrus"), and from there into Middle English as "tenebrose," the ancestor of the modern word. The Latin root also gave English the word "tenebrae," the name of a Holy Week service in which candles are extinguished one by one until the church is left in darkness. The plural form survives in that religious term, while the adjective took the plain sense of gloom and shadow. Writers have used "tenebrous" for centuries to describe places, moods, and ideas that seem to swallow light.

Synonyms: dark, shadowy, gloomy, obscure, dim

Antonyms: bright, light, clear, luminous, radiant