bleaker; bleakest
1
: exposed and barren and often windswept
a bleak landscape
bleak soils
2
: cold, raw
a bleak November evening
3
a
: lacking in warmth, life, or kindliness : grim
a bleak prison documentary
b
: not hopeful or encouraging : depressing
a bleak prognosis
a bleak outlook
the future looks bleak
c
: severely simple or austere
a bleak hotel room
bleakly adverb
bleakness noun
Choose the Right Synonym for bleak

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

Examples of bleak in a Sentence

a bleak outlook for the team for the rest of the season it was a dark and bleak wintry day
Recent Examples on the Web Things are looking pretty bleak for the aging mission, which might be nearing the end. Passant Rabie, Quartz, 8 Mar. 2024 The situation looks bleak for the Cougars and Beavers in many regards. Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 1 Mar. 2024 Add to the mix concerns about Social Security being drained by boomers and the waning offering of pensions, and Gen Xers are feeling bleak about their chances of retiring. Chloe Berger, Fortune, 27 Feb. 2024 Land mines return to Europe as front-line states fear Russian invasion In Washington, the outlook for President Biden’s $61 billion aid package looks bleak, as Republicans continue to stall aid from the United States, Ukraine’s largest single military backer to date. Emily Rauhala, Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2024 The future for pandas in the United States had looked bleak in recent months, as the return to China of the sole remaining panda at the Memphis Zoo in April and the three pandas at the National Zoo in November meant that Zoo Atlanta’s four pandas were the only ones left in the nation. Larissa Gao, NBC News, 22 Feb. 2024 The war also provided a bleak picture of the West’s military industrial capacity − or lack of it. John Bacon, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024 This genre, also known as Nordic noir, is characterized by its blend of crime fiction with social commentary and psychological depth, set against the backdrop of the often bleak and desolate locations of the Nordic countries out of the tourist season. David Nikel, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 Unsurprisingly, home ownership numbers are just as bleak. Erika D. Smith, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bleak.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English bleke pale; probably akin to Old English blāc

First Known Use

1574, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of bleak was in 1574

Dictionary Entries Near bleak

Cite this Entry

“Bleak.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bleak. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

bleak

adjective
1
: open to wind or weather
a bleak coast
2
: cold entry 1 sense 1, raw
a bleak November evening
3
: dreary, cheerless
the future looks bleak
4
: very plain
bleakly adverb
bleakness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on bleak

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