subfusc.

1. Dusky or dark and sober in coloring.

2. The prescribed dark clothing worn for certain academic occasions, especially at Oxford.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• subfusc dress

On the page

He wore subfusc dress to the ceremony.

The room’s subfusc colors absorbed the light.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary. Forms: Comparative more subfusc; superlative most subfusc where gradation is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.