1
as in bleak
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
the cold rain made for a gloomy day
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sad
feeling unhappiness
has been gloomy ever since the breakup with his girlfriend
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3
as in darkened
being without light or without much light
that house would be less gloomy if some of the overgrown trees and shrubs were cleared away
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gloomy
The imposing gothic details of Victor’s castle-laboratory—a portentous warrior-angel statue that comes to life, a screaming Medusa rondel carved in stone—vibrate with gloomy baroque majesty.
—
Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 30 Aug. 2025
Silksong began development as downloadable content for Hollow Knight, a gloomy Metroidvania about a silent, unnamed protagonist battling their way through the fallen insect kingdom of Hallownest.
—Andrew Cunningham, ArsTechnica, 21 Aug. 2025
Berry, 59, made the most of the gloomy weather and enjoyed a seaside swim with a massive inflatable yellow duck.
—Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 18 Aug. 2025
For me and all my girlfriends in our mid-40s, there’s a bit of a narrative about some aspects that might sound a bit gloomy.
—Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gloomy
Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 30 Aug. 2025
Silksong began development as downloadable content for Hollow Knight, a gloomy Metroidvania about a silent, unnamed protagonist battling their way through the fallen insect kingdom of Hallownest.
—Andrew Cunningham, ArsTechnica, 21 Aug. 2025
Berry, 59, made the most of the gloomy weather and enjoyed a seaside swim with a massive inflatable yellow duck.
—Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 18 Aug. 2025
For me and all my girlfriends in our mid-40s, there’s a bit of a narrative about some aspects that might sound a bit gloomy.
—Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gloomy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gloomy
Adjective
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Yes, there are good reasons to question NASA's long-term plans for the Artemis lunar program—the woeful cost of the Space Launch System rocket, the complexity of new commercial landers, and a bleak budget outlook.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
12 Sep. 2025
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That's rather bleak, while Charlie Sheen's life has just been bonkers.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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This one is trickier and sadder to think about.—
Brian Welk,
IndieWire,
12 Sep. 2025
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Composite image created by Newsweek shows two older people looking worried and a piggy bank with a sad face on its side.—
Aliss Higham,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Over the weekend, around 16,000 people paid their respects to the designer at his funeral chamber at the Armani Teatro designed by Tadao Ando, filled with white flowers and paper lanterns on the floor in a diagonal grid formation dimly lit up the darkened venue.—
Luisa Zargani,
Footwear News,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Chapple, the late Queen’s beekeeper, went first to Clarence House and then Buckingham Palace to perform his somber duty of telling the bees, a centuries-old custom of informing the bees when their owner has died.—
Elizabeth Bass Parman,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
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News voices in the 1970's tended to be somber, accent-less, and almost exclusively male.—
Scott Simon,
NPR,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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My research team works hard to keep the email addresses up to date, but executives keep changing their addresses to avoid having to deal with unhappy customers.—
Christopher Elliott,
Mercury News,
10 Sep. 2025
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But few seemed to leave unhappy.—
Jonathan Hawkins,
CNN Money,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Interestingly, Lorraine has taught Judy to ward off her frightening visions by using a nursery rhyme, effectively teaching her to suppress her dark side.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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The Dolphins wear white jerseys at home for afternoon games, forcing opponents to wear darker colors that absorb more heat.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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His relentless prepackaged positivity — even in the wake of depressing game day results — turned him into something of a punch line.—
Ian O'Connor,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
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The depressing effect of the seasonality is somewhat offset by the ‘5’ effect.—
Bill Sarubbi,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Unemployment has stayed relatively low in part because of dampened demand for workers as well as a depressed supply (people aging out of the workforce as well as reductions in immigrant workers).—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
6 Sep. 2025
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This time producer Brad Ingelsby tapped Mark Ruffalo as a depressed and traumatized FBI agent leading a task force investigating a series of home invasions targeting drug dens in the area.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gloomy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gloomy. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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