DISMALLY Synonyms: 90 Similar and Opposite Words

dismally

adverb

Definition of dismally

as in miserably

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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 dismally As Business Insider‘s Joshua Nelken-Zitser quickly discovered, ChatGPT for Teens is failing pretty dismally at its goals at launch. — Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 19 Aug. 2026 But for now, the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer remains at a dismally low 13%, according to the American Cancer Society. — Yuki Noguchi, NPR, 12 May 2026 The assets performed dismally in March but rebounded in April. — Michelle Fox, CNBC, 8 May 2026 The Sierra Nevada mountains were replenished after seeing a dismally low snowpack to start the year, and snow even temporarily closed Yosemite National Park. — Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2026 In this regard, ICE and the federal government have failed dismally. — The Atlantic, 26 Jan. 2026 That venture failed dismally… but today James and his younger brother Prince Liam are still harnessing the power of the internet. — Jon Wertheim, CBS News, 29 June 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for dismally

Adverb

National Socialism failed miserably in Adolf Hitler’s National Socialist (Nazi) Germany.

— Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 25 Aug. 2026
After Carlson officially flamed out, Brayden Narveson failed miserably.

— Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of miserably

Adverb

The shattered standing forlornly by the podium at the end of a draining tournament, hearts broken, bodies exhausted, having to watch as the opposition receive the reward that England were agonisingly close to.

— Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 19 July 2026
Adaptations of the Odyssey are always fleshy affairs, with half-naked men lying happily or forlornly on beaches.

— David Denby, New Yorker, 21 June 2026

Definition of forlornly

Adverb

The movie’s strongest sequences provide the all-too-rare sensation of truly not being able to believe your eyes, as the film’s most fantastical elements feel distressingly real.

— Tiffany Kelly, Entertainment Weekly, 17 July 2026
The event was halted after an hour due to fears about her safety, which distressingly encapsulates a tension that the trans Mayan artist has navigated for years.

— Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 14 June 2026

Definition of distressingly

Adverb

If exceeding delivery targets fails to spark a rally, meeting or slightly beating bottom-line earnings will likely be greeted glumly by Wall Street.

— Michael Khouw, CNBC, 20 July 2026
Three of the four arrived soberly dressed, one of them, Hodgkin, in a black suit, folded his arms and stared glumly ahead.

— Robin Muir, Vogue, 12 June 2026

Definition of glumly

Adverb

The project uses horror and darkly comic genre elements to approach the psychological pressures of motherhood, extending Urban’s interest in personal experience as a route into broader social and political terrain.

— Davide Abbatescianni, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026
On is a darkly comedic film exploring family, loneliness and the complicated ways people reconnect after years of emotional distance.

— Matt Grobar, Deadline, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of darkly

Adverb

The mother laughed, which made the girl slouched sullenly on her Icelandic glance back, and her mother brushed a hand over her face.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 19 Aug. 2026
Take, for example, Keanu Reeves, who was memeified after a photo of the actor sullenly eating a sandwich went viral.

— Ben Pettis, The Conversation, 3 Apr. 2026

Definition of sullenly

Adverb

The Vietnam War and Watergate had spawned a paralyzing sense of national distrust, and New Hollywood had reflected that reality beautifully but pessimistically.

— Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 23 May 2026
For example, professors Morana Koludrovic and Franceska Delija at the University of Split in Croatia also make the point, more pessimistically, however, that the young can no longer learn from the old, not with all the changes in technology and media.

— Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 20 Feb. 2026

Definition of pessimistically

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“Dismally.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dismally. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of dismally

adverb

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