Synonyms of bleak

bleak

adjective

ˈblēk 

1

as in depressing

causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer

a bleak outlook for the team for the rest of the season

Synonyms & Similar Words

• depressing
• somber
• dark
• lonely
• desolate
• depressive
• darkening
• murky
• cold
• grey
• morbid
• solemn
• gray
• lonesome
• miserable
• gloomy
• depressed
• cheerless
• black
• blue
• dismal
• sombre
• dire
• dreary
• wretched
• sad
• morose
• glum
• chill
• sullen
• funereal
• drear
• forlorn
• lugubrious
• disconsolate
• cloudy
• comfortless
• elegiac
• oppressive
• sepulchral
• saturnine
• melancholy
• dreich
• godforsaken
• grim
• desperate
• unhappy
• tenebrous
• dull
• elegiacal
• hopeless
• sunless
• dim
• Cimmerian
• negative
• melancholic
• woebegone
• plutonian
• dejected
• mournful
• mirthless
• discouraging
• pessimistic
• dispiriting
• woeful
• tenebrific
• despondent
• menacing
• distressful
• distressing
• dismaying
• upsetting
• discomfiting
• disheartening
• low
• hangdog
• inconsolable
• drab
• sorrowful
• droopy
• down
• lamentable
• dour
• plaintive
• colorless
• threatening
• louring
• lowering
• loury
• lowery

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• bright
• cheerful
• cheery
• friendly
• festive
• comforting
• sunshiny
• gay
• joyous
• cordial
• joyful
• merry
• buoyant
• jolly
• optimistic
• hopeful
• blithe
• gay
• mirthful
• encouraging
• heartwarming
• cheering
• blithesome
• jocund
• lighthearted
• lightsome

2

as in turbulent

marked by wet and windy conditions

it was a dark and bleak wintry day

Synonyms & Similar Words

• turbulent
• rainy
• snowy
• rough
• stormy
• inclement
• tempestuous
• dirty
• raw
• nasty
• foul
• squally
• windswept
• blustery
• overcast
• hazy
• cloudy
• misty
• murky
• breezy
• windblown
• gusty
• blowy
• foggy
• blustering
• sunless
• soupy

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• bright
• clear
• sunny
• fair
• cloudless
• sunshiny
• unclouded
• pleasant
• peaceful
• serene
• clement
• calm
• placid
• rainless
• balmy
• halcyon

3

as in chilly

uncomfortably cool

a bleak December morning

Synonyms & Similar Words

• chilly
• chilling
• bitter
• chill
• cold
• frigid
• icy
• brisk
• freezing
• raw
• sharp
• crisp
• nippy
• arctic
• bracing
• wintry
• frosty
• glacial
• rigorous
• wintery
• polar
• nipping
• invigorating
• ice-cold
• numbing
• frozen
• shivery
• snappy
• coolish
• subzero
• unheated
• frosted
• iced
• refrigerated
• subfreezing
• frore

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• warm
• balmy
• tepid
• lukewarm
• heated
• warmed

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective bleak contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of bleak are cheerless, desolate, dismal, dreary, and gloomy. While all these words mean "devoid of cheer or comfort," bleak suggests chill, dull, and barren characteristics that utterly dishearten.

the bleak years of the depression

When is cheerless a more appropriate choice than bleak?

The words cheerless and bleak can be used in similar contexts, but cheerless stresses absence of anything cheering.

a drab and cheerless office

In what contexts can desolate take the place of bleak?

The meanings of desolate and bleak largely overlap; however, desolate adds an element of utter remoteness or lack of human contact to any already disheartening aspect.

a desolate outpost

When might dismal be a better fit than bleak?

The synonyms dismal and bleak are sometimes interchangeable, but dismal indicates extreme and utterly depressing gloominess.

dismal weather

Where would dreary be a reasonable alternative to bleak?

While the synonyms dreary and bleak are close in meaning, dreary, often interchangeable with dismal, emphasizes discouragement resulting from sustained dullness or futility.

a dreary job

When would gloomy be a good substitute for bleak?

The words gloomy and bleak are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, gloomy often suggests lack of hope or promise.

gloomy war news

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of bleak

That kind of future is bleak and uncomfortable at best. —Richard B. Williams, Denver Post, 10 Sep. 2025

Yet, following these turbulent years, the political climate is also bleak. —Saskya Vandoorne, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2025

The labor market is weakening; today’s revisions were bleak. —Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 9 Sep. 2025

Doubtless, these findings are connected to Trump’s failure to fulfill his campaign pledge to bring down prices, along with his punishing tariffs and the bleak developments in the labor market. —John Cassidy, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025