Lugubrious
ləˈɡo͞obrēəs
ADJECTIVE
Looking or sounding sad and dismal.
EXAMPLE SENTENCES
“When his football team lost the championship game, my father was lugubrious for an entire month.”
“Her lugubrious attitude seemed more about getting attention than mourning a loss.”
“This time of year makes me feel lugubrious, but as soon as it warms up I start to feel better.”
WORD ORIGIN
Latin, early 17th century
WHY THIS WORD?
The quintessential demonstration of “lugubrious” is the character Eeyore from “Winnie the Pooh.” This eternally sad donkey expects the worst of everything, but his friends still love him. “Lugubrious” can be traced back to the Latin verb “lugēre,” which means “to mourn.” When the word entered English, it came to describe a demonstrative emotion, well beyond simple sadness. “Lugubrious” is an appropriately dramatic word for someone demonstrating over-the-top sadness.