dreary

dreary

adjective

Definition of DREARY

1

causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer <vowed that he would never take a desk job working in a dreary office>

Synonyms black, bleak, cheerless, chill, Cimmerian, cloudy, cold, comfortless, dark, darkening, depressing, depressive, desolate, dire, disconsolate, dismal, drear, dreary, dreich [chiefly Scottish], elegiac (also elegiacal), forlorn, funereal, glum, godforsaken, gray (also grey), lonely, lonesome, lugubrious, miserable, morbid, morose, murky, plutonian, saturnine, sepulchral, solemn, somber (or sombre), sullen, sunless, tenebrific, tenebrous, wretched

Related Words blue, dejected, depressed, despondent, disconsolate, down, droopy, hangdog, inconsolable, low, melancholic, melancholy, mirthless, sad, unhappy, woebegone, woeful; dim, discomfiting, discouraging, disheartening, dismaying, dispiriting, distressful, distressing, upsetting; desperate, hopeless, pessimistic; lamentable, mournful, plaintive, sorrowful; colorless, drab, dull; dour, grim, lowering (also louring), lowery (also loury), menacing, negative, oppressive, threatening

Near Antonyms blithe, blithesome, buoyant, gay, jocund, jolly, joyful, joyous, merry, mirthful; encouraging, hopeful, optimistic; lighthearted, lightsome

Antonyms bright, cheerful, cheering, cheery, comforting, cordial, festive, friendly, gay, heartwarming, sunshiny

2

causing unhappiness <decided to see a professional counselor in order to save their dreary marriage>

Synonyms depressing, dismal, drear, dreary, heartbreaking, heartrending, melancholy, mournful, pathetic, saddening, sorry, tearful, teary

Related Words deplorable, distressful, grievous, lamentable, unfortunate, woeful; discomforting, discomposing, disquieting, distressing, disturbing, perturbing; affecting, moving, poignant, touching; discouraging, disheartening, dispiriting

Near Antonyms heartening, heartwarming, inspiring, stimulating, stirring, uplifting; agreeable, delightful, enjoyable, pleasant, pleasing, pleasurable, satisfying, welcome; exhilarating, thrilling

Antonyms cheering, cheery, glad, happy

3

causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest <another dreary social event to suffer through>

Synonyms arid, colorless, drab, dreary, drudging, dry, dull, dusty, flat, heavy, ho-hum, humdrum, jading, jejune, leaden, mind-numbing, monochromatic, monotonous, numbing, old, pedestrian, ponderous, slow, stale, stodgy, stuffy, stupid, tame, tedious, tiresome, tiring, uninteresting, wearisome, weary, wearying

Related Words aseptic, barren, blah, dullish, pleasureless, prosaic, prosy, soggy, spiritless; blank, earthbound, gray (also grey), inanimate, pallid, pedantic, sterile, suspenseless, undramatic, uneventful, unexciting, unimaginative, uninspiring, unnewsworthy, unrewarding, unsensational, unspectacular; annoying, bothersome, irksome, irritating; longsome; palling; draining, enervating, exhausting, fatiguing, wearing; debilitating, enfeebling; demoralizing, discouraging, disheartening, dispiriting; common, commonplace, ordinary, tepid, unexceptional, unsurprising, vapid; cumbersome, lumbering, plodding, poky (or pokey)

Near Antonyms amazing, astonishing, astounding, awesome, eye-opening, fabulous, marvelous (or marvellous), sensational, spectacular, surprising, wonderful, wondrous; animating, breathtaking, electrifying, energizing, enlivening, exciting, exhilarating, galvanizing, hair-raising, inspiring, invigorating, rip-roaring, rousing, stimulating, stirring, thrilling; amusing, diverting, entertaining; moving, poignant, touching; alluring, attracting, attractive, beguiling, bewitching, captivating, charming, enchanting, enthralling, entrancing, fascinating; mesmerizing, spellbinding; suspenseful; arresting, provocative, tantalizing

Antonyms absorbing, engaging, engrossing, gripping, interesting, intriguing, involving, riveting