First Known Use: before 12th century
Dictionary
dreary
adjective drea·ry \ˈdrir-ē\
: causing unhappiness or sad feelings : not warm, cheerful, etc.
drea·ri·erdrea·ri·est
Full Definition of DREARY
1
: feeling, displaying, or reflecting listlessness or discouragement
2
— drea·ri·ly \ˈdrir-ə-lē\ adverb
— drea·ri·ness \ˈdrir-ē-nəs\ noun
See dreary defined for English-language learners
See dreary defined for kids
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Origin of DREARY
Middle English drery, from Old English drēorig sad, bloody, from drēor gore; akin to Old High German trūrēn to be sad, Gothic driusan to fall
Related to DREARY
- Synonyms
- black, bleak, cheerless, chill, Cimmerian, cloudy, cold, comfortless, dark, darkening, depressing, depressive, desolate, dire, disconsolate, dismal, drear, gloomy, 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 DREARY
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>.
DREARY Defined for Kids
dreary
adjective drea·ry \ˈdrir-ē\
drea·ri·erdrea·ri·est
Definition of DREARY for Kids
: dull and depressing <a dreary, rainy Monday>
— drea·ri·ly \ˈdrir-ə-lē\ adverb
— drea·ri·ness \ˈdrir-ē-nəs\ noun
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