1
as in bleak
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
it was a drear morning in January when I went to take my driving test
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sad
causing unhappiness
a barren and drear existence in a remote village
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in moroseness
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drear
Adjective
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Directed by Paul Schrader with a script by Bret Easton Ellis, this spiritually bleak L.A. drama features Lohan’s most daring performance, and probably the only one that manages to break completely with her childhood and adolescent roles.—
Tom Gliatto,
People.com,
9 Aug. 2025 -
The situation is bleak enough that, even if aid increases rapidly in the coming weeks, deaths from starvation are almost certain to rise.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
5 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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How long is unknown, but with the season winding down and every game increasing in importance, any game off for Tucker is a sad statement on how far his stock has dropped in the last month.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Aug. 2025
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But the film’s precise, funny characters and vivid, sweltering look would have meant nothing without Lee’s wise and ultimately sad vision of multicultural America as a place where good intentions and casual mistrust are as commonplace as the local pizzeria.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
16 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The movie Marty was based on Chayefsky’s television drama about two lonely people finding love.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
5 Aug. 2025
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Hero Ellen Ripley’s (Sigourney Weaver) lonely fight for survival gave way to a military mission to vanquish aliens ravaging a human colony; Cameron filled the frame with cocky Marines, boxy space tanks, and an adorable orphan who finds in Ripley a surrogate mother.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
5 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Gambling today, however, is a sad and depressing experience, nothing like my dad’s and my Atlantic City adventure.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
15 Aug. 2025
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And yet, somehow, the most depressing show on TV—with the exception of any news broadcast, at least—is a reality soap about bougie couples in the suburbs of Los Angeles.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
13 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Cramer also suggested that investors have tariff ennui because the U.S. has more major trade deals to settle — namely with China, Canada and Mexico — so negotiations are likely to continue for months.—
Julie Coleman,
CNBC,
28 July 2025
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For all those twists and turns, the sentiments in Dutch Interior’s lyrics often have more of a cohesive feeling, chock full of western ennui and religious iconography.—
Leah Lu,
Rolling Stone,
15 July 2025
Adjective
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Sydney Sweeney’s new dark crime comedy Americana is new in theaters this weekend.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
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Flames and dark smoke billowed over a cement factory that was set alight by a wildfire that swept through olive groves and forests and disrupted rail traffic on the outskirts of the Greek city of Patras, west of Athens.—
USA Today,
USA Today,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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What’s more pathetic than those who keep selling that myth?—
Orlando Sentinel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
6 Aug. 2025
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Kamala has lied for years about their pathetic job growth, which has never been real.—
Meg Kinnard,
Fortune,
5 Aug. 2025
Noun
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As the show progresses, the book morphs into a potent examination of self-objectification, of the existential tedium of work, and of the disorientation produced by living in a world where what is genuine and what is performance are difficult to disentangle.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
14 July 2025
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Not necessarily the worst team, but just a season that was boring, devoid of news, etc. — Clint N. While there are a few contenders, the 2013 season stands alone for tedium and banality.—
Pete Sampson,
New York Times,
11 July 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Drear.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drear. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.
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