Synonyms for gloomy
- adjective
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Dreary — suffering from gloom; melancholy; dejected
dreary, dark, dismal, grim, glum, dour, depressed, morose, downcast, depressing, cheerless, dispirited, somber US, sombre UK, moody, melancholy, bleak, disconsolate, doleful, dull, sad, lugubrious, sullen
2. Dim — not very illuminated; dim because of darkness, especially when appearing depressing or frightening
dim, dingy, murky, dusky, cloudy, obscure, shadowy, leaden, clouded, shady, tenebrous formal, unilluminated, stygian formal, cimmerian formal, darksome formal, sombrous, caliginous formal dated
Other
Definitions
- adj. 1
Not very illuminated; dim because of darkness, especially when appearing depressing or frightening.
- adj. 2
Suffering from gloom; melancholy; dejected.
a gloomy temper or countenance
Related words
- Word family
- gloominess
Choose the right word
Murky is said of that which is at once dark, obscure, and gloomy; as, a murky den; a murky sky. Figuratively, dark is emblematic of sadness, agreeing with somber, dismal, gloomy, also of moral evil; as, a dark deed.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- depressed Tom said Mary has been feeling depressed recently.
- dreary I've got to go to another dreary meeting tomorrow.
- dour Tom's dour silence said more than any words could.
- glum Don't be so glum about it. Life has its ups and downs.
- murky Stefan dived and disappeared into the murky water.
- dingy Lacking proper lighting, Tammy's room was depressingly dingy.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| gloomy | rising | |
| depressed | steady | |
| dreary | rising | |
| dour | rising | |
| glum | rising | |
| murky | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- sad1, dim1
- 4 letters
- dark1, dull1, grim1, glum1, dour2
- 5 letters
- moody2, shady2, bleak1, murky2, dingy2, dusky, lurid2, sulky
- 6 letters
- cloudy2, dismal2, dreary2, somber2, sombre, sullen2, morose2, leaden2
- 7 letters
- obscure2, shadowy3, clouded2, stygian3, doleful2
- 8 letters
- downcast2, darksome, sombrous, gloomful
- 9 letters
- depressed2, cheerless, cimmerian, tenebrous3
- 10 letters
- depressing3, melancholy4, dispirited4, lugubrious4, caliginous
- 12 letters
- disconsolate
- 13 letters
- unilluminated
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (dour2 = 2 syllables).