Synonyms for joyless
- adjective
Most common
depressing bleak dreary lugubrious depressed despondent inconsolable doleful
All synonyms
Adjective
cheerless, dismal, miserable, humorless US, humourless UK, dreary, dark, lugubrious, depressing, wretched, gloomy, grim, bleak, unhappy, forlorn, sad, despondent, doleful, inconsolable, melancholy, depressed, unsmiling, dejected, desolate, sorrowful, mournful, disconsolate, melancholic, downcast, somber US, sombre UK, woeful, moody, disheartened, grief-stricken, down-hearted, down, heartsick, sorry, sunless, mirthless, woebegone, spiritless, comfortless, uncheerful, uncheery
Definitions
- adj. 1
Without joy; unhappy, sad.
Without Joy, my life is joyless!
Example sentences
- depressing Recently, you've been depressing to hang out with.
- bleak To some people, Algeria's future is looking bleak.
- dreary I've got to go to another dreary meeting tomorrow.
- lugubrious I'd prefer to be called lugubrious rather than a sad sack.
- depressed Tom said Mary has been feeling depressed recently.
- despondent Millions of Russians feel cheated and despondent.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| joyless | rising | |
| depressing | steady | |
| bleak | rising | |
| dreary | rising | |
| lugubrious | steady | |
| depressed | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- sad1
- 4 letters
- down1, dark1, grim1
- 5 letters
- sorry2, moody2, bleak1
- 6 letters
- gloomy2, dismal2, dreary2, somber2, sombre, woeful2
- 7 letters
- unhappy3, forlorn2, sunless, doleful2
- 8 letters
- wretched2, desolate3, dejected3, mournful2, downcast2, uncheery
- 9 letters
- miserable4, depressed2, sorrowful3, humorless3, unsmiling3, heartsick, cheerless, woebegone3, mirthless
- 10 letters
- depressing3, melancholy4, despondent3, lugubrious4, humourless, spiritless, uncheerful
- 11 letters
- melancholic4, comfortless
- 12 letters
- disheartened3, inconsolable, disconsolate
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (sorry2 = 2 syllables).