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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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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
Election polls may seem cheerless, inscrutable, and wrapped in data and murky terminology.
—W. Joseph Campbell, Fortune, 29 Oct. 2024
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
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
Election polls may seem cheerless, inscrutable, and wrapped in data and murky terminology.
—W. Joseph Campbell, Fortune, 29 Oct. 2024
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
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
-
While there is still a chance that Sanders and Colorado can turn things around, the rest of the season is looking bleak.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
-
From a bleak job hunt upon her arrival in 2016 to undergoing treatment for her second bout with breast cancer during the uncertainty and fear of COVID, Davis recalls her journey through raw vulnerability and splashes of humor.—
Essence,
Essence,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
In the play, Farrow played Sharon, a lonely Iowa woman – estranged from her adult son, divorced from her husband – who decides to take a boarder into her large farmhouse.—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
30 Sep. 2025
-
But on the flip side, the one tally in the win column remains lonely as the team heads into its Week 5 matchup against the Jets in New York.—
Nick Harris,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
According to the tabloid site, the couple seemed more somber and tense than usual.—
Lea Veloso,
StyleCaster,
27 Sep. 2025
-
The mood on the ice and in the dressing room was somber Thursday when Barkov crumbled to the ice following a noncontact drill and had to be helped off the ice by two team staff members.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
27 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Attendees can also expect kid-friendly activities, including hair braiding, glow-in-the-dark face painting, accessory booths, photo booths, and giant inflatable mascots on the dance floor.—
Charlie Vargas,
Oc Register,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Atop her dress, Carey opted for a long-sleeve dark leather jacket with a cropped design and edgy zipper closure.—
Julia Teti,
Footwear News,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Coordinating your exhales with the pressing, depressing, pulling and lifting phases of these exercises enhances activation of the scapular stabilizing muscles and reinforces proper rib cage alignment.—
Dana Santas,
CNN Money,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Closing The Gap The racial wealth gap in America remains depressing, and homeownership is one of the clearest indicators of it.—
Essence,
Essence,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Unlike other parts of the Cascades, where campgrounds are plentiful and the Pacific Crest Trail attracts hundreds of hikers, this area is desolate.—
Zoe Sottile,
CNN Money,
20 Sep. 2025
-
Despite the Winchesters' massive home, thanks to Andrew's family's wealth, Millie is banished to live in a desolate attic bedroom.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
In the paper, the authors said that education, prevention strategies and policies aiming to reduce soft drink consumption are urgently required to mitigate depressive symptoms.—
Hannah Millington,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
-
The next seven months are a gray, depressive blur.—
Staff Author,
PEOPLE,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Dude can’t carry the Rams to the postseason again all by his lonesome.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
19 Aug. 2025
-
Dylan took the exit on the county line and pulled into the lonesome border truck stop, pissed in the bathroom, paid for Bob’s coffee with cream and with sugar and took out three hundred dollars at the ATM.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cheerless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cheerless. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
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