as in chill
an uncomfortable degree of coolness
the morning bleakness prompted me to get a fire going
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Recent Examples of bleakness
But even amidst so much bewildering bleakness, there are moments of beauty to be found in a new season, in a new revolution of the wheel of the year.
—
Gabrielle Bellot, Literary Hub, 27 Feb. 2026
While often unrelenting in its bleakness, Biutiful is made effective by Bardem's subtly heartbreaking performance, which earned him an Oscar nomination.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Jan. 2026
Banishing all of that bleakness, Hurts rolled right on third-and-goal and fit a 15-yard touchdown pass to a leaping Dallas Goedert between a layer of multiple defenders.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2025
The long-view shtick works for a while, but the bleakness gets exhausting.
—Sam Lipsyte, Curbed, 15 Dec. 2025
The filmmaker instead evokes his earlier work—namely Dogtooth and The Killing of a Sacred Deer—combining the mannered, hermetic bleakness of those tales with the befuddled existentialism of a Samuel Beckett play.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 31 Oct. 2025
Wear it for snowy weekend strolls, festive city breaks, Christmas morning outings and all the way up until the icy bleakness of mid-March.
—Ellie Davis, Vogue, 28 Oct. 2025
The film, whose bleakness served as an inspiration for Nebraska, is based on the story of Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate, teenage lovers who committed a series of murders in 1958.
—Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 24 Oct. 2025
In Pynchon’s best works, his bleakness is brightened, in both senses—illuminated and made lighter—by the sweep of his vision and his affection for his fallible, foolhardy, well-meaning, wildly outmatched main characters.
—Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Gabrielle Bellot, Literary Hub, 27 Feb. 2026
While often unrelenting in its bleakness, Biutiful is made effective by Bardem's subtly heartbreaking performance, which earned him an Oscar nomination.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Jan. 2026
Banishing all of that bleakness, Hurts rolled right on third-and-goal and fit a 15-yard touchdown pass to a leaping Dallas Goedert between a layer of multiple defenders.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2025
The long-view shtick works for a while, but the bleakness gets exhausting.
—Sam Lipsyte, Curbed, 15 Dec. 2025
The filmmaker instead evokes his earlier work—namely Dogtooth and The Killing of a Sacred Deer—combining the mannered, hermetic bleakness of those tales with the befuddled existentialism of a Samuel Beckett play.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 31 Oct. 2025
Wear it for snowy weekend strolls, festive city breaks, Christmas morning outings and all the way up until the icy bleakness of mid-March.
—Ellie Davis, Vogue, 28 Oct. 2025
The film, whose bleakness served as an inspiration for Nebraska, is based on the story of Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate, teenage lovers who committed a series of murders in 1958.
—Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 24 Oct. 2025
In Pynchon’s best works, his bleakness is brightened, in both senses—illuminated and made lighter—by the sweep of his vision and his affection for his fallible, foolhardy, well-meaning, wildly outmatched main characters.
—Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bleakness
Noun
-
The escalating conflict has sent a chill through military communities across California, which is home to more than 157,000 active-duty military personnel — more than any other state.—
Hannah Fry,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Until that first little later afternoon chill comes with the drop of the sun.—
Alexandra Pereira,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Mar. 2026
Noun
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As excited as Celebrini was to be back in San Jose, there was still some bitterness as to how the Olympic tournament ended.—
Curtis Pashelka,
Mercury News,
26 Feb. 2026
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Matcha provides the color and gives it a slight yet pleasant green-tea bitterness.—
The New York Times News Service Syndicate,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bleakness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bleakness. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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