as in woebegone
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
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 mirthless
One thing the record makes clear is that Anderson is not afraid to mix humor into her work, proving that avant-garde performance mustn’t be mirthless or without joy.
—
David Harris, SPIN, 11 May 2026
Historically, autocrats are a mirthless bunch.
—David Remnick, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2025
Splashes of elegance in gravestone carving appear as the mirthless old Puritans die, people get richer, and London goes royal.
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 19 July 2025
Why is this one mirthless and artless?
—Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 29 Jan. 2025
Yet there was a mirthless response from those around him; a realisation there was an element of truth to his chant.
—Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 30 Dec. 2024
His mirthless laugh might have suggested Kafkaesque persecution, or Hardyesque inexorability of fate.
—Tad Friend, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024
David Harris, SPIN, 11 May 2026
Historically, autocrats are a mirthless bunch.
—David Remnick, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2025
Splashes of elegance in gravestone carving appear as the mirthless old Puritans die, people get richer, and London goes royal.
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 19 July 2025
Why is this one mirthless and artless?
—Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 29 Jan. 2025
Yet there was a mirthless response from those around him; a realisation there was an element of truth to his chant.
—Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 30 Dec. 2024
His mirthless laugh might have suggested Kafkaesque persecution, or Hardyesque inexorability of fate.
—Tad Friend, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mirthless
Adjective
-
After three seasons of almost nothing but dread and sorrow, the NBA’s most woebegone franchise, for generations, finally had a moment to celebrate.—
David Aldridge,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
-
The Clippers rallied from a chaotic 6-21 start to finish 42-40 in this once-woebegone franchise's 15th consecutive winning season — the NBA's longest active streak.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The storm let up before daybreak, but the morning was gray and cheerless with a cold wind.—
Elwyn "Bud" Myers,
Outdoor Life,
11 Mar. 2026
-
This episode is disappointingly cheerless overall—it’s not frosted, tinsely, glowing, silver with bells and mist, or snowy.—
Jenny Singer,
Glamour,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Este is sad — Este is depressed-y.—
Mikael Wood,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2026
-
How sad or scary is ‘Toy Story 5’?—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
18 June 2026
Adjective
-
Cancer House make downer music with the same allure, where all things lugubrious offer a strange, addictive solace.—
Joshua Minsoo Kim,
Pitchfork,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Four Spent the Day Together is a flat, at times lugubrious account of losing such conviction.—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
The play can create some real melancholy.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
18 June 2026
-
Americans are in a melancholy mood as the nation prepares to mark its 250th anniversary.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
17 June 2026
Adjective
-
Life without either, the pair determine, has left Leonora morose, maladjusted and desperate to claw her way back to the road not taken.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
-
In a morose Season 2, the group, now shrunken to a fivesome, with Ginny and her baby sometimes in tow, grapples with life after Nick and what their respective next chapters might bring.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
28 May 2026
Adjective
-
Then, in 1930, Horkheimer, a brilliant, turbulent man with a melancholic streak, became director and instilled a more intransigent perspective.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
15 June 2026
-
But the emotional gravity of this offering's deeply personal, melancholic lyrical content plucks an undeniably profound chord that uniquely separates it from the rest of his work.—
Chris Barilla,
PEOPLE,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
Fleur and Caroline put innumerable noses out of joint on their paths to creative and intellectual fulfillment; lovers become dejected, friendships are left to go cold, and each woman’s devotion to her work is viewed with resentment and suspicion.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
-
And the dejected diehard of a downtrodden franchise isn’t truly stuck in a one-sided detrimental relationship.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
11 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mirthless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mirthless. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
