1
as in bleak
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
it was a drear morning in January when I went to take my driving test
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sad
causing unhappiness
a barren and drear existence in a remote village
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in moroseness
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of drear
Lynne Sullivan, The Providence Journal, 14 Mar. 2026
Adjective
As the world begins to emerge from the drear of winter, kids especially are looking to get out of the house.
—Lynne Sullivan, The Providence Journal, 14 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drear
Adjective
-
What’s great about Grayson’s story is that things were looking pretty bleak before the Bananas rolled into town about a decade ago.—
AJ Willingham,
AJC.com,
28 Mar. 2026
-
The future looks bleak for non-power conferences and uncertain for Big East, Big 12 and ACC, too.—
Jon Wilner,
Mercury News,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
One of the saddest bits of it, actually!—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Sister Jean would pass away at age 106 this past October, a sad metaphor for the fate of Cinderella.—
Greg Cote
Updated March 23,
Miami Herald,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Single bunnies can be lonely and depressed.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Scripted by Grace Glowicki and Ben Petrie (partners in life and in filmmaking), these words of seduction are music to the ears of a lonely Gravedigger (Glowicki), who has been formulating a perfume to cover up her corpse-like stench.—
Katie Walsh,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
All airports are depressing and scary; some go above and beyond.—
Ellen Cushing,
The Atlantic,
26 Mar. 2026
-
And people in Silicon Valley are after efficiency, which lacks humanity and can be horribly depressing.—
Marta Balaga,
Variety,
21 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Too much American Chekhov falls straight into the ennui trap.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Those reporters told stories of war in all its gore and its glory, its exhilaration and its ennui.—
Kathy Kiely,
The Conversation,
17 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
On the last night that anybody else reportedly saw Nancy, that camera caught a glimpse of a person clad in dark clothes, wearing gloves and a black balaclava, unidentifiable, standing at the threshold.—
Vinson Cunningham,
New Yorker,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Not only did that article form the basis of the film, but Lumet actually took the note and cast Pacino in the role of that dark, thin fellow.—
Chris Jones,
New York Daily News,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The politicians who shut down the government are pathetic on both sides of the aisle.—
Joe Soucheray,
Twin Cities,
28 Mar. 2026
-
His Floyd constantly straddles the line between sweet and pathetic, often falling off one side or the other.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Don’t let tedium drain your energy!—
Tarot.com,
Baltimore Sun,
30 Mar. 2026
-
What would be lost in the red-white-and-blue tedium gives Venezuela an instantly identifiable characteristic.—
Johnny Flores Jr,
New York Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Drear.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drear. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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