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
To find out more, Newsweek spoke with Pixile Studios co-founder Michael One and narrative designer Ruben, about designing a battle royale in this distinct format, building a global live service as a small indie team, and how cuteness and bleakness are not contradictions.
—
MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Mar. 2026
Harry is a grouch and Oslo is his trash can, which isn’t the way the city is traditionally depicted, with Santelmann making the descent into greater and greater bleakness seem organic.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 25 Mar. 2026
Thus Cuarón is free to break the bleakness in his life with the surreal life where a kiss becomes the ticket for romantic flight into the skies.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 23 Mar. 2026
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
MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Mar. 2026
Harry is a grouch and Oslo is his trash can, which isn’t the way the city is traditionally depicted, with Santelmann making the descent into greater and greater bleakness seem organic.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 25 Mar. 2026
Thus Cuarón is free to break the bleakness in his life with the surreal life where a kiss becomes the ticket for romantic flight into the skies.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 23 Mar. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bleakness
Noun
-
Everyone sipped, meditated, reset — and then CA7RIEL and Paco tore the cover off the chill and delivered a high-octane performance that will not soon be forgotten.—
Isabela Raygoza,
Billboard,
28 Mar. 2026
-
The breeze should calm some on Saturday, when overcast skies and an unseasonable chill is expected.—
Julia James,
Dallas Morning News,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Curiously, there is less bitterness among farmworkers and advocates than there is sadness.—
Marcos Breton,
Sacbee.com,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Each sip ends with some pleasant heat on the back end, a nice, warming finish that lingers for a few minutes, along with some tannic oak that does not go overboard into bitterness.—
Jonah Flicker,
Robb Report,
22 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bleakness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bleakness. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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