Synonyms
- black
- bleak
- cheerless
- chill
- Cimmerian
- cloudy
- cold
- comfortless
- dark
- darkening
- depressive
- desolate
- dire
- disconsolate
- dismal
- drear
- dreary
- dreich [chiefly Scottish]
- elegiac
- elegiacal
- forlorn
- funereal
- gloomy
- glum
- godforsaken
- gray
- grey
- lonely
- lonesome
- lugubrious
- miserable
- morbid
- morose
- murky
- plutonian
- saturnine
- sepulchral
- solemn
- somber
- sombre
- sullen
- sunless
- tenebrific
- tenebrous
- wretched
Examples of depressing in a Sentence
This rainy weather is depressing.
He paints a depressing picture of modern life.
Recent Examples on the Web
The title suggests that this might not be the most depressing of Holocaust films, which is true; but there’s an encyclopedia of horrors that phrase might include.
—
Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2024
All of it is concerning and, frankly, downright depressing.
—Jodie Valade, Charlotte Observer, 8 Mar. 2024
Lots of women have left Goldman Sachs of late, but the departure of Stephanie Cohen was particularly depressing for women still at the bank.
—Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 25 Mar. 2024
The trend for all homeless people was depressing, but possibly even more so regarding veterans.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Mar. 2024
Of course, the simple (and somewhat depressing) explanation is that there are more of them around than usual.
—Liam Hess, Vogue, 6 Mar. 2024
For the Democrats, the polls have rolled in with the depressing regularity of scores from a Knicks West Coast road trip: loss, loss, loss, once every two to three days.
—Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2024
Watching TikTok fight for its life over the past few weeks, using some of the same techniques of obfuscation and deflection that have worried critics for years, has been profoundly depressing.
—Kevin Roose, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2024
The looks were dark and dreary, but not depressing.
—Nadja Sayej, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024
Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2024
All of it is concerning and, frankly, downright depressing.
—Jodie Valade, Charlotte Observer, 8 Mar. 2024
Lots of women have left Goldman Sachs of late, but the departure of Stephanie Cohen was particularly depressing for women still at the bank.
—Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 25 Mar. 2024
The trend for all homeless people was depressing, but possibly even more so regarding veterans.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Mar. 2024
Of course, the simple (and somewhat depressing) explanation is that there are more of them around than usual.
—Liam Hess, Vogue, 6 Mar. 2024
For the Democrats, the polls have rolled in with the depressing regularity of scores from a Knicks West Coast road trip: loss, loss, loss, once every two to three days.
—Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2024
Watching TikTok fight for its life over the past few weeks, using some of the same techniques of obfuscation and deflection that have worried critics for years, has been profoundly depressing.
—Kevin Roose, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2024
The looks were dark and dreary, but not depressing.
—Nadja Sayej, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'depressing.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1629, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near depressing
Cite this Entry
“Depressing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/depressing. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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More from Merriam-Webster on depressing
Nglish: Translation of depressing for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of depressing for Arabic Speakers
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