---

• s  lacking brightness or color; dull
  children in somber brown clothes
• s  grave or even gloomy in character
  a suit of somber black
  a somber mood

• Merriment always seemed to be bubbling just below the surface, even when the topics were somber.
• Media watchdog groups have condemned the sensationalistic coverage and sounded somber warnings about a slide in journalist ethics.
• More recent films, like Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd, have also inspired the somber palette.

• drab
• sober
• sombre
• melancholy

News & Articles

---

• Patriot Guard motorcyclists enjoy a more upbeat experience at first statewide rally
  Usually when the motorcyclists of the Missouri Patriot Guard meet each other, it’s at the somber occasion of a funeral. On Saturday, though, it was a celebration at the Mathewson Exhibition Center. “I think it was flat-out awesome,” said Patriot Guard motorcyclist John Musgrove, of Troy. “I hope to see it go on every year, with even more bikers next year.”
  June 16, 2013 - Stars and Stripes
• Immigration reform rally, a day before Father's Day, focuses on detained dads
  Sitting on the grass outside the Broward Transitional Center, 8-year-old Bryan Diaz wrote his dad a somber, but hopeful Father's Day card.        
  June 16, 2013 - Sun-Sentinel
• Residents rally for Flag Day
  dThe mood was festive and somber as the Flag Day ceremony prepared to start. With the old flag, ready to be retired, still waving majestically, cars drove by honking their horns in honor and one man rode by on his bicycle cheering “USA! USA!...
  June 15, 2013 - The Porterville Recorder

Quotes

---

• Robert Shiller in Malaysia Sun
  We reached a somber year-end for the housing market in 2007,said Robert Shiller, Chief Economist at MacroMarkets LLC and co-founder of the index, in a statement. "Home prices across the nation and in most metro areas are significantly...
• Barack Obama in AFP
  Senator McCain suggests that somehow, you know, I'm green behind the ears and I'm just spouting off and he's somber and responsible,Obama said. "This is a guy who sang, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran, who called for the annihilation of North Korea....
• George Yeo in eTaiwan News
  The situation in Bangkok is worrying, and it's a somber backdrop to our discussions,Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo said.