subfusc

[ suhb-fuhsk ]

adjective

1. subfuscous; dusky.
2. dark and dull; dingy; drab:

   a subfusc mining town.

subfusc

/ ˈsʌbfʌsk /

adjective

1. devoid of brightness or appeal; drab, dull, or dark

noun

1. (at Oxford University) formal academic dress

Word History and Origins

Origin of subfusc¹

1755–65; < Latin subfuscus subfuscous

Word History and Origins

Origin of subfusc¹

C18: from Latin subfuscus dusky, from fuscus dark

Example Sentences

The courtiers tramping across the green eye them: Suffolk with his big beard, his flashing eye, his big chest, and Master Secretary subfusc, low-slung, square.

From The Guardian

As I raised my phone to snap a picture of the amber stone columns radiant in the evening light, a cyclist in subfusc screeched and swerved to avoid me, yelling “Tourist!”

From Wall Street Journal

If there is to be a grand future for Bitcoin, it will not be as a reserve currency to replace the dollar or yen or as a subfusc network for anarchists, libertarians or mobsters.

From New York Times

It was a view that mixed the bucolic, the nostalgic, the subfusc urban world, and an occasional hint of exoticism.

From The Guardian

Other buildings here are made from brick and concrete, and very few are painted, creating a subfusc cityscape exacerbated by the dust blowing across the altiplano.

From New York Times

Related Words

• cloudy
• cold
• dark
• dim
• dismal
• flat
• hazy
• lifeless
• muddy
• muted
• obscure
• soft
• somber
• subdued