Definition of gloomynext
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as in sad
feeling unhappiness has been gloomy ever since the breakup with his girlfriend

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective gloomy contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of gloomy are bleak, cheerless, desolate, dismal, and dreary. While all these words mean "devoid of cheer or comfort," gloomy often suggests lack of hope or promise.

gloomy war news

When might bleak be a better fit than gloomy?

While in some cases nearly identical to gloomy, bleak suggests chill, dull, and barren characteristics that utterly dishearten.

the bleak years of the depression

When would cheerless be a good substitute for gloomy?

In some situations, the words cheerless and gloomy are roughly equivalent. However, cheerless stresses absence of anything cheering.

a drab and cheerless office

When is desolate a more appropriate choice than gloomy?

The meanings of desolate and gloomy largely overlap; however, desolate adds an element of utter remoteness or lack of human contact to any already disheartening aspect.

a desolate outpost

When can dismal be used instead of gloomy?

While the synonyms dismal and gloomy are close in meaning, dismal indicates extreme and utterly depressing gloominess.

dismal weather

Where would dreary be a reasonable alternative to gloomy?

The words dreary and gloomy can be used in similar contexts, but dreary, often interchangeable with dismal, emphasizes discouragement resulting from sustained dullness or futility.

a dreary job

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of gloomy The show pushes back at the gloomy narrative that has dogged San Francisco for the past five or ten years. Winston Ross, Forbes.com, 30 May 2026 Like the uncharacteristically cool weather in West Sacramento for late May, the A’s offense continued its recent gloomy stretch of hitting, mustering a few middle-inning scoring opportunities but failing to get a clutch hit en route to a 9-1 loss. Sean Campbell, Sacbee.com, 27 May 2026 This probably explains why the best fresh colognes for men are perennial picks, even when the weather feels cold, gloomy, and wet. Adam Hurly, Robb Report, 27 May 2026 So why is Wall Street increasingly upbeat even as many Americans remain gloomy about the economy? Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 27 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for gloomy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gloomy
Adjective
  • This year, though, is things are looking bleak.
    Alan Gionet, CBS News, 4 June 2026
  • Charli and preeminent pop divas Olivia Rodrigo and Ariana Grande are releasing some of the bleakest music of their careers just in time for summer, the traditional season for party anthems and celebratory bangers.
    Scottie Andrew, CNN Money, 2 June 2026
Adjective
  • The other six ascended to the highest office in the land as a result of the dysfunction that has made Peru a punch line in political-science circles, a sad story of ungovernability played on a loop.
    Daniel Alarcón, New Yorker, 4 June 2026
  • There’s a one-note quality to the film’s comedy that grows steadily, even deliberately, more abrasive over two hours, but the sad, brash, gradually shrinking bigness of the personalities at its center holds your attention.
    Guy Lodge, Variety, 4 June 2026
Adjective
  • She’s talked up her push to convert darkened streetlights, many of them stripped of their copper wire, to solar power.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2026
  • In the darkened foyer, Ember contemplated this unassuming bit of paper, momentarily paralyzed by a mixture of dread and excitement stirred together, an overpowering sensation that oozed from the crown of her head, down the length of her body, then hardened, like a soft golden resin becoming solid.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • There’s a somber scene in a new documentary about Patrick Kelly, where executive producers Jess Manning and Ray Cornelius are at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center, about to dive into research about the late fashion designer.
    Bianca Betancourt, CNN Money, 2 June 2026
  • But after seven episodes wearing down the viewer with a bleak perspective, in the season finale, Euphoria pulls itself out of its own somber patterns to reach for grace and mercy in Christian symbolism, American wholesomeness, and the concept of family.
    Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 1 June 2026
Adjective
  • What’s leaving one unhappy child at home compared to sending five hundred people home from the theatre happy?
    Deborah Treisman, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
  • Shohei Ohtani almost became the most unhappy pitcher to ever be part of throwing a no-hitter.
    Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 28 May 2026
Adjective
  • If the second section presents the diagnosis, then in the footnote to Howl Ginsberg writes a prescription, because if we’re oppressed by a dark faith then the only antidote is a different one.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 June 2026
  • Villains could hide in the giant banyan tree or lurk in the spookily dark new flotation room; a fight scene might involve someone crashing down the waterfall-wall in the centre of the wellness centre.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026
Adjective
  • Almost a year out to sea is very depressing.
    Steve Walsh, NPR, 23 May 2026
  • Some sendoffs are mundane; others are downright depressing.
    Michael Silver, New York Times, 21 May 2026
Adjective
  • One reason Red Sea traffic remains depressed is because ships can bypass it and avoid the security risk altogether by sailing around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.
    Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 30 May 2026
  • As anxiety has mounted about depressed entry-level hiring, with Gen Z crowds even booing luminaries such as Eric Schmidt amid commencement speeches touting AI, Dimon has given warm but blunt advice to ambitious young workers.
    Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 29 May 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Gloomy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gloomy. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.

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