gloom

verb

\ ˈglüm

gloomed; glooming; glooms

Definition of gloom

(Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

1 : to look, feel, or act sullen or despondent

2 : to be or become overcast

3 : to loom up dimly

transitive verb

: to make dark, murky, or somber : make gloomy

gloom

noun

Definition of gloom (Entry 2 of 2)

1a : partial or total darkness

b : a dark or shadowy place

2a : lowness of spirits : dejection

b : an atmosphere of despondency a gloom fell over the household

Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about gloom

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Examples of gloom in a Sentence

Verb

we just sat there, glooming, as we waited and waited for our dinners to arrive he continued to gloom over the fact that he had been passed over for promotion to district manager

Noun

The painting captures the gloom of a foggy night. He walked away, disappearing into the gloom. the gloom of the forest He was often subject to periods of gloom. A cloud of gloom has descended over the city.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Plokhov was not the only one shrouded in gloom: The lights were going out on American fashion. — Sally Singer, Vogue, "Vogue’s Fashion Fund Turns 15! Looking Back on the Prize That Changed American Style," 16 Oct. 2018 The sun enters shadowy Scorpio on Tuesday, October 23, but for you, this celestial movement doesn’t mean doom and gloom. — Aliza Kelly Faragher, Allure, "What October's Pisces Horoscope Means for You," 30 Sep. 2018 On the flip side, doom and gloom blooms adorned with extra cobwebs and spiders to dark hearts' delight. — Gabe Bergado, Teen Vogue, "The "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" Spellman House Was a Spooky Adventure Fit for Instagram," 26 Oct. 2018 His expressions change like the light on a partly sunny day, going bright with joy then clouding over with gloom, then breaking through with streaks of hope. — Lara Sorokanich, Popular Mechanics, "What Littleton Learned," 1 Aug. 2018 Rudyard Kipling wrote about a world transformed by a peaceful use of aviation, but there were plenty of doom and gloom novels, too. — Angela Chen, The Verge, "A historian explains how people of the past imagined the future," 20 July 2018 But lots of us get the same itch in winter: the need to get a sunny, tropical break from the snow and the gloom. — Ken Jennings, Condé Nast Traveler, "This Meteorologist Created the Perfect Road Trip," 20 Aug. 2018 Inside the shelter’s gloom, the women — one on the verge of giving birth and the other her mother-in-law — twisted their hands and stared into space. — New York Times, "When a Baby Is an Everyday Reminder of Rohingya Horror," 7 July 2018 Yet the feelings evoked by these often grim stories affect us differently than does the unrelieved gloom spread over Jude. — BostonGlobe.com, "A writer’s writer and the inevitability of bad times," 6 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gloom.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.