oscuri

Oscuri is the masculine plural form of the Italian adjective oscuro, meaning dark or obscure. It is used to modify masculine plural nouns, as in "colori oscuri" (dark colors) or "pensieri oscuri" (dark thoughts). The feminine plural is oscure, while the singular forms are oscuro (masculine) and oscura (feminine). The word can denote literal darkness or figurative obscurity.

Oscuri derives from the Latin obscurus, through Old Italian, and shares cognates with other Romance languages. In Italian, it is common in both formal and informal usage to convey mood, atmosphere, or concealment. It appears in literary and media contexts to describe settings, characters, or themes characterized by shadow, ambiguity, or secrecy. Common phrases include tempi oscuri (dark times) and notti oscure (dark nights); the feminine form oscure is used when modifying feminine nouns.

As a frequent descriptive term, oscuri is primarily an adjective, not a standalone noun. It agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies and should be used accordingly. It is sometimes encountered in titles or headings to evoke a somber or enigmatic tone, but it is not a proper noun.