First Known Use: 15th century
Dictionary
dismal
adjective dis·mal \ˈdiz-məl\
: showing or causing unhappiness or sad feelings : not warm, cheerful, etc.
: very bad or poor
Full Definition of DISMAL
1
obsolete : disastrous, dreadful
2
: showing or causing gloom or depression
3
: lacking merit : particularly bad <a dismal performance>
— dis·mal·ly \-mə-lē\ adverb
— dis·mal·ness noun
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Origin of DISMAL
Middle English, from dismal, noun, days marked as unlucky in medieval calendars, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin dies mali, literally, evil days
Related to DISMAL
- Synonyms
- black, bleak, cheerless, chill, Cimmerian, cloudy, cold, comfortless, dark, darkening, depressing, depressive, desolate, dire, disconsolate, gloomy, 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
Synonym Discussion of DISMAL
dismal, dreary, bleak, gloomy, cheerless, desolate mean devoid of cheer or comfort. dismal indicates extreme and utterly depressing gloominess <dismal weather>. dreary, often interchangeable with dismal, emphasizes discouragement resulting from sustained dullness or futility <a dreary job>. bleak suggests chill, dull, and barren characteristics that utterly dishearten <the bleak years of the depression>. gloomy often suggests lack of hope or promise <gloomy war news>. cheerless stresses absence of anything cheering <a drab and cheerless office>. desolate adds an element of utter remoteness or lack of human contact to any already disheartening aspect <a desolate outpost>.
DISMALLY Defined for Kids
dismal
adjective dis·mal \ˈdiz-məl\
Definition of DISMAL for Kids
: very gloomy <dismal weather>
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