All 8 Uses

somber
in
The Chosen, by Chaim Potok
(Auto-generated)

He sounded unhappy, and there was a somber look on his face.
Chpt 2.8 *

somber = serious (without humour or fun--perhaps sad)
He would listen somberly, sigh, and repeat that he had no intention of quarreling with Reb Saunders, he respected his position in spite of its fanaticism.
Chpt 3.14

somberly = solemnly (in a manner that is serious--not cheerful or lighthearted)
Danny's block was heavily populated by the followers of his father, Russian Hasidic Jews in somber garb, whose habits and frames of reference were born on the soil of the land they had abandoned.†
Chpt 1.1
I found that most of the melodies were familiar to me, especially the slow, somber ones that were meant to convey the sadness of the singers over the conclusion of the Shabbat, and the tunes I did not know I was able to follow easily, because the basic melody lines were almost all the same.†
Chpt 2.7
He looked at me, his eyes somber, and shook his head.†
Chpt 2.8
My father looked at me, his eyes somber.†
Chpt 2.11
I didn't understand any of it, but he seemed so somber and strange that I didn't want to talk about it anymore.†
Chpt 3.17
I sat down and he looked at me, his eyes somber behind their steel-rimmed spectacles.†
Chpt 3.18

Definitions:

(1) (somber as in: a somber mood)
serious (without cheer or lightheartedness); or sad
(2) (somber as in: somber colors)
lacking brightness or color -- perhaps gloomy
(3) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)