tenebrous.

1. dark, shadow-filled, or difficult to see through

2. Difficult to understand or interpret because of obscurity.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• tenebrous interior
• tenebrous passage
• tenebrous depths

On the page

The candle barely penetrated the tenebrous passage.

He paused at the entrance to the tenebrous cellar.

A pale doorway appeared beyond the tenebrous hall.

Usage notes

Primary curation section: Gothic. Rare and literary. A figurative sense describes obscurity or difficulty of understanding; it does not itself mean supernatural. Comparative: more tenebrous; superlative: most tenebrous.