as in bleak
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
a dank and cheerless castle that was once the site of unspeakable horrors
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cheerless
For three days, things were cheerless for Courtney Williams.
—
Mike Cook, Twin Cities, 28 May 2025
Gomez gestured across the street toward 100 Centre Street—the criminal courthouse, a cheerless Art Deco building the color of cinder blocks.
—Sarah Lustbader, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
Gomez gestured across the street toward 100 Centre Street—the criminal courthouse, a cheerless Art Deco building the color of cinder blocks.
—Sarah Lustbader, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
Wedged between the cheerless skyscrapers of Third Avenue and an uncharming stretch of Second, just blocks north of the bro bars of Murray Hill, is a row of nine townhouses.
—Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 2 Aug. 2024
Election polls may seem cheerless, inscrutable, and wrapped in data and murky terminology.
—W. Joseph Campbell, Fortune, 29 Oct. 2024
Their lives had been expended in cheerless labor, there wills broken, their intelligences numbed.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 5 July 2024
That turned an entertaining exhibition into an awkward and cheerless faux-competitive affair.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 19 July 2022
For all his gloom, Mann was not entirely cheerless.
—Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2021
Mike Cook, Twin Cities, 28 May 2025
Gomez gestured across the street toward 100 Centre Street—the criminal courthouse, a cheerless Art Deco building the color of cinder blocks.
—Sarah Lustbader, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
Gomez gestured across the street toward 100 Centre Street—the criminal courthouse, a cheerless Art Deco building the color of cinder blocks.
—Sarah Lustbader, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
Wedged between the cheerless skyscrapers of Third Avenue and an uncharming stretch of Second, just blocks north of the bro bars of Murray Hill, is a row of nine townhouses.
—Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 2 Aug. 2024
Election polls may seem cheerless, inscrutable, and wrapped in data and murky terminology.
—W. Joseph Campbell, Fortune, 29 Oct. 2024
Their lives had been expended in cheerless labor, there wills broken, their intelligences numbed.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 5 July 2024
That turned an entertaining exhibition into an awkward and cheerless faux-competitive affair.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 19 July 2022
For all his gloom, Mann was not entirely cheerless.
—Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cheerless
Adjective
-
Some traders said the numbers were less severe than analysts' bleak forecasts.—
Sabrina Valle,
USA Today,
3 July 2025
-
No one is as funny and as bleak in the same sentence, or maybe even the same word.—
Literary Hub
July 1,
Literary Hub,
1 July 2025
Adjective
-
Horgan’s Eva Garvey is funny and nurturing and grounded but also quite lonely and bitter, a character whose love and bile hold Bad Sisters together.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
15 July 2025
-
Even the psychological pain can be hard to fathom, especially for those who have never truly been lonely.—
Paul Bloom,
New Yorker,
14 July 2025
Adjective
-
The work’s third movement offers an intriguing pizzicato section, as well moments of discordant — though not somber — unease.—
Sheila Regan,
Twin Cities,
11 July 2025
-
On Wednesday, hundreds prayed, wept and held one another at a prayer service, among the first of many somber gatherings to come in the weeks ahead.—
Nadia Lathan,
Los Angeles Times,
10 July 2025
Adjective
-
Hot showers may make melasma patches darker and more noticeable.12 Dizziness: A hot shower dilates (opens) your blood vessels, causing changes in blood pressure and increasing the amount of blood your heart pumps.—
Mark Gurarie,
Verywell Health,
9 July 2025
-
The duo stepped out in complementary dark ensembles, with Hayek wearing one of her favorite footwear looks — hefty platform heels — with a black velvet dress.—
Jaden Thompson,
Footwear News,
9 July 2025
Adjective
-
That this show could mark a turning point for free speech and the First Amendment is just too depressing to contemplate.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
2 July 2025
-
But already there are major depressing effects on the ports and warehousing that are important contributors to California's economy.—
James Bickerton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 June 2025
Adjective
-
Griffith also describes in vivid detail the desolate Hopi landscape and the villages atop the three mesas.—
Sandra Dallas,
Denver Post,
13 July 2025
-
Despite its desolate appearance, Bouvet is surprisingly rich in bird life.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
12 July 2025
Adjective
-
American kids also experienced an increase in early onset of menstruation, trouble sleeping, limitations in activity, physical symptoms, depressive symptoms and loneliness during the study period.—
Stephen Sorace,
FOXNews.com,
8 July 2025
-
Rates of depressive symptoms, loneliness and physical complaints such as headaches and stomachaches have also worsened.—
Daniella Gray,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 July 2025
Adjective
-
By the end of the night, however, any external, discerning traits fade away, leaving Scott by his lonesome.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
22 Apr. 2025
-
Williams knew the self was something else—the basic, lonesome unit of tragedy.—
Helen Shaw,
The New Yorker,
13 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cheerless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cheerless. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share