Definition of

Lugubrious

The etymological origin of the term gloomy is found in Latin. Specifically, it derives from the word "lugubris", which can be translated as "dire" or "funereal". Likewise, it is interesting to know that this word emanates specifically from the verb "lugere", which is synonymous with "lament" or "be in mourning."

The term refers to the gloomy or dark .

LugubriousFor example: "The van broke down in the middle of the road and we had to spend the night in a dingy hotel located in a rural area" , "I don't like this restaurant, it looks dingy: let's better find somewhere else to have dinner" , "The young singer had a gloomy end: he was murdered and dismembered by his own father."

Among the different words that can function as a synonym for lugubrious, in addition to those already indicated, we find ominous , sad, gloomy, sinister, mournful, mortuary, opaque or gloomy, among others. On the other hand, among its antonyms we can highlight words such as cheerful, happy or clear.

The gloomy is gloomy : it is sad, dull. In a physical sense, it is something dark or deteriorated , which generates fear . If it refers to a symbolic or abstract issue, the gloomy is tragic and painful .

Dark places are the traditional setting for horror films. An old abandoned house, with broken windows, poor lighting and a wooden floor that creaks when you walk, can be a gloomy setting to set a frightening story. The same can be said of a forest full of old trees that prevent the passage of sunlight or the reflection of the moon.

In the world of literature and cinema we find a large number of places that are gloomy and that have become precisely the perfect setting for the development of a horror story.

This would be the case, for example, of the sinister motel where the film "Psycho" (1960) takes place, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Anthony Perkins. It is a roadside motel that is located next to a sinister home, that of the Bates family. In both places there will be murders and the multiple personality disorder that he has will be discovered.

Likewise, we cannot ignore that the castle of the famous Count Dracula, protagonist of the novel written by Bram Stoker that was published in 1897, is very gloomy. It is a gloomy mansion where that character lives and which is located in a hidden place in the Carpathian Mountains in Transylvania.

A gloomy event , meanwhile, contains macabre elements. Suppose that a bag with human remains is found on a public street: two heads, five legs, three arms and numerous bones. The press, faced with this situation, describes the discovery as dismal. The authorities, of course, must investigate who the remains belong to, determine what happened to those people and apply the corresponding punishment to the person responsible or those responsible for the crimes in question.