DREARILY Synonyms: 90 Similar and Opposite Words

drearily

adverb

Definition of drearily

as in dismally

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for drearily

Adverb

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

Definition of dismally

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 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

Museums abhor windows, so the building has all the approachability of a medieval keep, as gloomily defensive as the park is welcoming.

— Justin Davidson, Curbed, 4 June 2026
In Time Regained, the concluding volume of Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, an older version of the narrator gloomily decides to attend a gathering at the Guermantes’ mansion.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Mar. 2026

Definition of gloomily

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.

Browse Nearby Words

drear

drearily

dreariness

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Drearily.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drearily. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of drearily

adverb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

aggrandize

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Popular in Wordplay

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18

Popular

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Games & Quizzes