Dictionary
Thesaurus
Medical
Scrabble®
Spanish Central
Browse DictionaryBrowse Thesaurus
Get our free apps!iPhone•iPad•Android
Games
Word of the Day
Video
Blog: Words at Play
My Faves
Dictionary

stygian

adjective, sty·gian often capitalized \ˈsti-j(ē-)ən\

Definition of STYGIAN

1
:  of or relating to the river Styx
2
:  extremely dark, gloomy, or forbidding <the stygian blackness of the cave>
ADVERTISEMENT

Origin of STYGIAN

Latin stygius, from Greek stygios, from Styg-, Styx Styx
First Known Use: 1513

Related to STYGIAN

Synonyms
black, caliginous, darkened, darkish, darkling, darksome, dim, dimmed, dusk, dusky, gloomy, lightless, murky, obscure, obscured, pitch-black, pitch-dark, pitchy, rayless, somber (or sombre), dark, tenebrific, tenebrous, unlit
Antonyms
bright, brightened, brilliant, illuminated, illumined, light, lit (or lighted), lightsome, lucent, lucid, luminous

Other Mythology and Folklore Terms

elysian, fay, muse, nimbus, phoenix

Rhymes with STYGIAN

Phrygian, pidgin, pigeon, smidgen, wigeon

Learn More About STYGIAN

Browse

Next Word in the Dictionary: styl-Previous Word in the Dictionary: styfsiekteAll Words Near: stygian
ADVERTISEMENT
10 Charming Words for Nasty People
Put-downs with flair
Learn More
When "Literally" isn't, well, literal
How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts.
Watch Now
Know what this is?
Test your vocab with our fun, fast game
Go Play
Fear of cats?
Ailurophobia, and 9 other unusual fears
Learn More
Join Us
Merriam-Webster
on Facebook
Merriam-Webster
on Twitter
Bookstore: Digital and Print
Merriam-Webster references for Mobile, Kindle, print, and more.
See All
Other Merriam-Webster Dictionaries