# sombre

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈsɒmbə/ · frequency rank #35,523

## Definitions
1. Dark; gloomy; shadowy, dimly lit.
2. Dull or dark in colour or brightness.
3. Melancholic, gloomy, dreary, dismal; grim.
4. Grave; extremely serious.

## Etymology
Borrowed from French sombre (“dark”), from Old French sombre, from a verb *sombrer or Latin sub- + umbra. Compare Spanish sombra (“shade; dark part of a picture; ghost”).

## Easily confused with
- **some** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sombre-vs-some)
- **sore** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sombre-vs-sore)
- **Somme** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sombre-vs-somme)
- **sombrero** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sombre-vs-sombrero)
- **sabre** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sabre-vs-sombre)
- **somber** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/somber-vs-sombre)

## Common misspellings (8)
`osmbre`, `smobre`, `sobmre`, `sombbre`, `sombrre`, `sommbre`, `somrbe`, `ssombre`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/sombre