subfusc

comparative more subfusc · superlative most subfusc

1. Having subdued colors.

   And I notice that we are both decently sub-fusc. Have you seen Trimmer in that frightful frock like a canary lampshade?

   1935, Dorothy L. Sayers, Gaudy Night

   1 more example

   The courtiers tramping across the green eye the: [the Duke of] Suffolk with his big beard, his flashing eye, his big chest, and Master Secretary [Thomas Cromwell] subfusc, low-slung, square.

   2020, Hilary Mantel, The Mirror and the Light, London: Fourth Estate, page 6

plural subfuscs

1. uncountableusuallyDark clothing.
2. uncountableusuallyClothing acceptable, by regulation at certain universities, for an examination or official event.
3. uncountableusuallyOxford UniversityFormal clothing worn on special academic occasions.