1
as in bleak
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
the depressing atmosphere of the empty mall
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sad
causing unhappiness
more depressing news about the famine overseas
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of depressing
Such widespread outsourcing of thought and memory is deeply depressing to many educators.
—
Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 13 May 2026
Because what could be more depressing than just passively watching the world burn and melt and crumble?
—Literary Hub, 6 May 2026
This level of security is a depressing necessity in modern-day Britain.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 1 May 2026
The movie is simultaneously more depressing than the original and more saccharine, with a repellent amount of affection between characters who should know better.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for depressing
Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 13 May 2026
Because what could be more depressing than just passively watching the world burn and melt and crumble?
—Literary Hub, 6 May 2026
This level of security is a depressing necessity in modern-day Britain.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 1 May 2026
The movie is simultaneously more depressing than the original and more saccharine, with a repellent amount of affection between characters who should know better.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for depressing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for depressing
Adjective
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This year, though, is things are looking bleak.—
Alan Gionet,
CBS News,
4 June 2026
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Charli and preeminent pop divas Olivia Rodrigo and Ariana Grande are releasing some of the bleakest music of their careers just in time for summer, the traditional season for party anthems and celebratory bangers.—
Scottie Andrew,
CNN Money,
2 June 2026
Adjective
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The other six ascended to the highest office in the land as a result of the dysfunction that has made Peru a punch line in political-science circles, a sad story of ungovernability played on a loop.—
Daniel Alarcón,
New Yorker,
4 June 2026
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There’s a one-note quality to the film’s comedy that grows steadily, even deliberately, more abrasive over two hours, but the sad, brash, gradually shrinking bigness of the personalities at its center holds your attention.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
4 June 2026
Adjective
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The activity reduces stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms while supporting better sleep.—
Sneha Dhandapani,
CNN Money,
6 June 2026
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But a retirement album this is not, and not just because Latto walked back her assertion in her interview with Nadeska, attributing the impulse to a depressive low in the new-album-and-new-motherhood process.—
Mankaprr Conteh,
Pitchfork,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
Sports make people a little pathetic.—
Hannah Keyser,
CNN Money,
9 June 2026
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Williams didn't portray Peter Banning as pathetic.—
Cynthia Pelayo,
PEOPLE,
8 June 2026
Adjective
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There’s a somber scene in a new documentary about Patrick Kelly, where executive producers Jess Manning and Ray Cornelius are at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center, about to dive into research about the late fashion designer.—
Bianca Betancourt,
CNN Money,
2 June 2026
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But after seven episodes wearing down the viewer with a bleak perspective, in the season finale, Euphoria pulls itself out of its own somber patterns to reach for grace and mercy in Christian symbolism, American wholesomeness, and the concept of family.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
1 June 2026
Adjective
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Each beat of that scene is gentle and caring, while also tense and heartbreaking.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
9 June 2026
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The couple's eldest son, Jake, reflected on his parents' death and his brother's apparent role in a heartbreaking essay shared on his Substack in April of this year.—
Meg Walters,
InStyle,
9 June 2026
Adjective
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Its dark terrain is constantly changing due to lava flows from Kilauea or Mauna Loa – two of the most active volcanoes in the world, according to the National Park Service website.—
Alia Beard Rau,
USA Today,
10 June 2026
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Some find the last scene ambiguous, multivalent; some dark; others comic.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2026
Adjective
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More than half of the American workforce is lonely.—
Chris Schembra,
Rolling Stone,
8 June 2026
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This is what can make the job feel lonely.—
Matthew Warren,
Forbes.com,
5 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Depressing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/depressing. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
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