All 6 Uses

somber
in
A Gesture Life
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"It looks better than it is," she says somberly.
p. 215.1 *

somberly = solemnly (in a manner that is serious--not cheerful or lighthearted)
She seemed to be gazing on me somewhat somberly, as if I had just been born into the difficult world, her eyes bearing a sadness and awe.
p. 246.5
Each day until dusk I would treat the ills, both trivial and grave, of the modest neighborhood folks, attending with patience and close application every complaint of cough and rash and ache, gently and somberly addressing the more serious indications, my corner windowed office known all over as a kindly haven, the seat of good Doc Hata of Whatever Street.
p. 273.4
I don't answer, though I glance at her somberly, to try to tell her somehow that she's both absolutely wrong, and right.
p. 337.5
She had given her employees the news of the store closing a few days earlier, and the mood on the floor and among the staff was decidedly somber, all the more distinguished from Tommy's brusque, overpleased activity.†
p. 219.1
"No," she answered, with great somberness.†
p. 349.1

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)