1
as in darkly
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2
as in somberly
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Recent Examples of bleakly
In one panel, children maimed or exhausted by labor stare out bleakly; in another, unemployed men in a small industrial town sit or stand around.
—
Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 9 Apr. 2026
But Cash’s most original and engaging writing is slightly out of step with reality and bleakly funny, devoted to wordplay and willing to be foolish about it.
—Hannah Gold, New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2026
On the sixth day of the new year, normally a bleakly depressing time for corporate employees, Enhypen had a treat in store for their fans.
—Irene Kim, Vogue, 16 Jan. 2026
Pulling all the threads together, Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister and a key international ally of Ukraine, saw things bleakly.
—Andrew Carey, CNN Money, 29 Nov. 2025
Where other projects have found success discussing the same notions bleakly, Etzler trusts his sardonic approach will tempt audiences to let their guards down and allow the subject matter to resonate, perhaps looking inward at their own complicity in the process.
—Holly Jones, Variety, 26 Sep. 2025
Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 9 Apr. 2026
But Cash’s most original and engaging writing is slightly out of step with reality and bleakly funny, devoted to wordplay and willing to be foolish about it.
—Hannah Gold, New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2026
On the sixth day of the new year, normally a bleakly depressing time for corporate employees, Enhypen had a treat in store for their fans.
—Irene Kim, Vogue, 16 Jan. 2026
Pulling all the threads together, Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister and a key international ally of Ukraine, saw things bleakly.
—Andrew Carey, CNN Money, 29 Nov. 2025
Where other projects have found success discussing the same notions bleakly, Etzler trusts his sardonic approach will tempt audiences to let their guards down and allow the subject matter to resonate, perhaps looking inward at their own complicity in the process.
—Holly Jones, Variety, 26 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bleakly
Adverb
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In theaters Friday after a strong reception at SXSW last month, the genre-scrambling, darkly comic neo-western casts him as Ulysses, a principled small-town sheriff who takes a temporary posting in a sleepy corner of Minnesota called Normal.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Apr. 2026
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This will allow the inside to cook thoroughly without letting the outer crust get too darkly browned.—
Victoria Spencer,
Martha Stewart,
14 Apr. 2026
Adverb
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Joseph and his supporters were clad in green and white and marched somberly to the election council’s headquarters.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
12 Mar. 2026
-
As a light dusting of snow fell over Minneapolis Sunday morning, community members lit candles, laid fresh flowers and stood somberly around a makeshift vigil at the site of Pretti’s death.—
Michael Biesecker,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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In November 2021, Trap star Josh Hartnett and his longtime partner Tamsin Egerton quietly married in a private ceremony in London.—
Sophie Dodd,
PEOPLE,
20 Apr. 2026
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When most teenagers are focused on school and social life, Miri Ahuja, a freshman at Evergreen Valley High School, has been busy quietly changing her community — one pad at a time.—
Anne Gelhaus,
Mercury News,
19 Apr. 2026
Adverb
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Head coach Juan Carlos Amoros has leaned heavily on younger players to start the season, such as rookies Jordynn Dudley and Andrea Kitahata.—
Melanie Anzidei,
New York Times,
23 Apr. 2026
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The Queen origin story, which also heavily leaned on thrilling concert sequences to electrify audiences, stands as the biggest music biopic of all time with $910 million worldwide.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
22 Apr. 2026
Adverb
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Elizabeth Banks is Lindy Littlejohn, a seriously frustrated writer, unhappily if tumultuously married to Les (Matthew Macfadyen), a brilliant scientist.—
Stephen Schaefer,
Boston Herald,
9 Apr. 2026
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How many of my life decisions have been made in reaction to feeling unhappily married?—
Liana Finck,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2026
Adverb
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If that were true, record numbers of small owners wouldn’t be staring down foreclosure and bankruptcy due to past rent freezes and years of miniscule rent adjustments that failed miserably to address across-the-board increases in building operating costs and expenses.—
Ann Korchak,
New York Daily News,
23 Mar. 2026
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Her strategy failed miserably as lawmakers refused to give in to her demands.—
Joe Battenfeld,
Boston Herald,
21 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bleakly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bleakly. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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