as in chill
an uncomfortable degree of coolness
the morning bleakness prompted me to get a fire going
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bleakness
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
The campaign has already exceeded its goal by more than $38,000 dollars, with six days to go, proving no amount of dystopian bleakness will deter true Black Mirror fans.
—Leslie Katz, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
While The Road confronts us with the bleakness of planetary destruction, the sensory deprivation chamber in which Harpman holds her characters (and, therefore, readers) leaves no choice but to travel deep into our bodies.
—Hazlitt, 23 Oct. 2024
The playwright makes his Broadway debut with Little Bear Ridge Road, a singularly beautiful piece that shifts almost imperceptibly from acerbic comedy to searing pathos before an ending whose bleakness is broken by a slender but luminous beam of hope.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
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
The campaign has already exceeded its goal by more than $38,000 dollars, with six days to go, proving no amount of dystopian bleakness will deter true Black Mirror fans.
—Leslie Katz, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
While The Road confronts us with the bleakness of planetary destruction, the sensory deprivation chamber in which Harpman holds her characters (and, therefore, readers) leaves no choice but to travel deep into our bodies.
—Hazlitt, 23 Oct. 2024
The playwright makes his Broadway debut with Little Bear Ridge Road, a singularly beautiful piece that shifts almost imperceptibly from acerbic comedy to searing pathos before an ending whose bleakness is broken by a slender but luminous beam of hope.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bleakness
Noun
-
The widespread cold blast will deliver the season’s most significant chill so far, with many areas expecting their first hard freeze and morning lows dipping well below average, according to the Climate Prediction Center.—
Brandi D. Addison,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
8 Nov. 2025
-
Cozy fleece blankets keep the chill at bay, while a steaming cup of tea rounds out the meal.—
Evie Carrick,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Biden’s attempts to reingratiate himself have largely fallen on deaf ears, given the lasting bitterness many Democrats hold over his handling of the last year of his presidency.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
8 Nov. 2025
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Cook mustard greens with olive oil and spices like pepper flakes and garlic, then add vinegar or lemon juice to balance the bitterness.—
Merve Ceylan,
Health,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bleakness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bleakness. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.
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