1
a
: a brown melanin-containing pigment from the ink of cuttlefishes
b
: the inky secretion of a cuttlefish
2
: a print or photograph of a brown color resembling sepia
3
: a brownish-gray to dark olive-brown color
1
: made of or done in sepia
2
: of the color sepia
Examples of sepia in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 5 Apr. 2024
Customers can also choose from more than 50 BMW individual special paint finishes, including turban green, petrol mica metallic, anglesey green metallic and sepia metallic.
—James Raia, The Mercury News, 31 Mar. 2024
For today’s pap shield, the actor opted for oversized sunglasses (in this case, square tortoiseshells with sepia lenses from Bottega Veneta) and a dark gray scarf draped over her head.
—Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 19 Mar. 2024
As smoke smothered New York City in a sepia haze, city and state officials scrambled to mount a response to the unhealthy air.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 9 June 2023
The audience is simultaneously possessed by sepia memories of the past, humbling gratitude for the present, and acceptance of the dark infinity that awaits us all.
—Jeff Weiss, Spin, 21 Aug. 2023
Look forward to lobster bisque, oysters, sashimi hamachi, sauteed sepia, steak tartare, bone-in short rib, a pavlova/vacherin with grapefruit mousseline and more.
—Brock Keeling, Orange County Register, 8 Feb. 2024
The resulting haze puts a natural sepia filter on the city at dusk.
—WIRED, 13 Nov. 2023
Turn the Color Wheel According to the NKBA, grays, beiges, whites, blues, blacks, and sepia tones top the list of modern kitchen color ideas.
—Kristina McGuirk, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Dec. 2023
Lindsey Bahr, Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2023
The harsh, desaturated look of Luc Montpellier’s cinematography — not quite black-and-white, not quite sepia — establishes an ambiance of persistent, disorienting unreality.
—Justin Changfilm Critic, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2022
The sepia fog turned to bright colors and deep shadows in the late-afternoon sun.
—Robert Gauthierstaff Photographer, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2022
The sepia blowups of crab fisherman, outside and in, are especially arresting.
—Washington Post, 14 May 2021
Cyclists have always adapted to a variety of terrain, as those old, sepia-tone photographs of the Tour de France from the early 1900s will attest.
—Brion O’Connor, BostonGlobe.com, 10 July 2019
All the group has to go on is an old, wallet-sized sepia photograph.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 June 2019
In fact, the first half of the movie is a mostly plotless, sepia-tone slog, whose copious scenes of tree-chopping, pillow talk and creepy cult rituals prompted a handful of fest-goers to walk out.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 21 Jan. 2018
But Lepp, who lives in Seattle and has a background in film and the gaming industry, has so much more invested in these sepia panels, and so many stories to tell.
—Steve Duin, OregonLive.com, 1 Feb. 2018
Noun
The designer added a pair of sporty cat-eye sunglasses with sepia lenses from Vuarnet—and carried a second pair of sunnies in her hand.
—Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 5 Apr. 2024
Customers can also choose from more than 50 BMW individual special paint finishes, including turban green, petrol mica metallic, anglesey green metallic and sepia metallic.
—James Raia, The Mercury News, 31 Mar. 2024
For today’s pap shield, the actor opted for oversized sunglasses (in this case, square tortoiseshells with sepia lenses from Bottega Veneta) and a dark gray scarf draped over her head.
—Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 19 Mar. 2024
As smoke smothered New York City in a sepia haze, city and state officials scrambled to mount a response to the unhealthy air.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 9 June 2023
The audience is simultaneously possessed by sepia memories of the past, humbling gratitude for the present, and acceptance of the dark infinity that awaits us all.
—Jeff Weiss, Spin, 21 Aug. 2023
Look forward to lobster bisque, oysters, sashimi hamachi, sauteed sepia, steak tartare, bone-in short rib, a pavlova/vacherin with grapefruit mousseline and more.
—Brock Keeling, Orange County Register, 8 Feb. 2024
The resulting haze puts a natural sepia filter on the city at dusk.
—WIRED, 13 Nov. 2023
Turn the Color Wheel According to the NKBA, grays, beiges, whites, blues, blacks, and sepia tones top the list of modern kitchen color ideas.
—Kristina McGuirk, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Dec. 2023
Adjective
Polley and cinematographer Luc Montpellier shoot the story in a muted palette, not quite sepia but not quite color either, reflecting the limited world of its characters.
—Lindsey Bahr, Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2023
The harsh, desaturated look of Luc Montpellier’s cinematography — not quite black-and-white, not quite sepia — establishes an ambiance of persistent, disorienting unreality.
—Justin Changfilm Critic, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2022
The sepia fog turned to bright colors and deep shadows in the late-afternoon sun.
—Robert Gauthierstaff Photographer, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2022
The sepia blowups of crab fisherman, outside and in, are especially arresting.
—Washington Post, 14 May 2021
Cyclists have always adapted to a variety of terrain, as those old, sepia-tone photographs of the Tour de France from the early 1900s will attest.
—Brion O’Connor, BostonGlobe.com, 10 July 2019
All the group has to go on is an old, wallet-sized sepia photograph.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 June 2019
In fact, the first half of the movie is a mostly plotless, sepia-tone slog, whose copious scenes of tree-chopping, pillow talk and creepy cult rituals prompted a handful of fest-goers to walk out.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 21 Jan. 2018
But Lepp, who lives in Seattle and has a background in film and the gaming industry, has so much more invested in these sepia panels, and so many stories to tell.
—Steve Duin, OregonLive.com, 1 Feb. 2018
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sepia.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near sepia
Cite this Entry
“Sepia.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sepia. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sepia
1 of 2 noun
se·pia
ˈsē-pē-ə 
1
: a brown pigment made from the ink of cuttlefishes
2
: a brownish gray
sepia
2 of 2 adjective
: of the color sepia
Medical Definition
sepia
noun
se·pia
ˈsē-pē-ə
1
capitalized
: a genus (the type of the family Sepiidae) of oval-bodied cephalopods that comprise the cuttlefishes and have a saclike organ containing a dark fluid and an internal shell mostly of calcium carbonate which has been used as an antacid and in tooth and polishing powders
2
: the inky secretion of a cuttlefish or a brown pigment from it
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