Words / C2

l-uh-GOOBR-ee-uh-s/ləˈɡuːbriəs/

Lugubrious means looking or sounding very sad, often in an exaggerated way: a lugubrious sigh, a lugubrious voice. Sad is everyday; mournful is close; gloomy is broader; sepulchral is even more funereal. Slightly comic in modern use — the sadness is performed or overdone. In speech, exaggeratedly mournful is enough. Lugubrious describes manner, not a clinical depression. Do not use it as a solemn medical word.

Meaning

Looking or sounding very sad, often in an exaggerated way.

Examples

• “He gave a lugubrious sigh at the homework.”
• “He gave a lugubrious sigh at the homework as if it were a funeral programme.”
• “The lugubrious soundtrack fought the comedy; the jokes never recovered.”

Good to know

Exaggeratedly mournful (often slightly comic). Everyday: gloomy / mournful. Manner and tone, not diagnosis. Literary/humorous more than clinical.

Near in meaning

mournful

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