Synonyms of gloomy

gloomy

adjective

ˈglü-mē 

1

as in bleak

causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer

the cold rain made for a gloomy day

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bleak
• somber
• dark
• depressing
• depressive
• lonely
• desolate
• solemn
• darkening
• murky
• cold
• morbid
• gray
• miserable
• lonesome
• dreary
• depressed
• cheerless
• blue
• dismal
• glum
• morose
• black
• sad
• wretched
• lugubrious
• sullen
• funereal
• cloudy
• chill
• dire
• drear
• forlorn
• sepulchral
• oppressive
• disconsolate
• melancholy
• comfortless
• saturnine
• elegiac
• dreich
• unhappy
• tenebrous
• godforsaken
• dull
• grim
• melancholic
• sunless
• mournful
• desperate
• dim
• hopeless
• dejected
• negative
• Cimmerian
• pessimistic
• plutonian
• woebegone
• mirthless
• discouraging
• distressful
• despondent
• woeful
• tenebrific
• dispiriting
• menacing
• sorrowful
• distressing
• dismaying
• inconsolable
• droopy
• upsetting
• disheartening
• drab
• low
• down
• dour
• lamentable
• hangdog
• plaintive
• discomfiting
• colorless
• threatening
• lowering
• lowery

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• bright
• cheerful
• cheery
• friendly
• festive
• sunshiny
• gay
• comforting
• joyous
• cordial
• joyful
• merry
• jolly
• buoyant
• optimistic
• mirthful
• gay
• blithe
• hopeful
• encouraging
• cheering
• heartwarming
• blithesome
• jocund
• lighthearted
• lightsome

2

as in sad

feeling unhappiness

has been gloomy ever since the breakup with his girlfriend

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sad
• unhappy
• depressed
• miserable
• heartbroken
• melancholy
• bad
• sorry
• sorrowful
• worried
• mournful
• upset
• glum
• uneasy
• doleful
• hopeless
• melancholic
• disappointed
• joyless
• dejected
• downcast
• troubled
• woebegone
• forlorn
• depressing
• disconsolate
• blue
• despondent
• wretched
• woeful
• crestfallen
• heartsick
• inconsolable
• droopy
• hangdog
• distressed
• down
• saddened
• suicidal
• downhearted
• brokenhearted
• low-spirited
• heavyhearted
• low
• down in the mouth
• discouraged
• bleak
• despairing
• heartsore
• somber
• cast down
• tearful
• dispirited
• sunk
• aggrieved
• lugubrious
• unquiet
• desolate
• morbid
• dreary
• grieving
• cheerless
• dark
• dolorous
• dismal
• morose
• disheartened
• weeping
• gray
• regretful
• sullen
• anguished
• plaintive
• lachrymose
• drear
• rueful
• comfortless
• agonized
• murky
• darkening
• saturnine
• funereal
• wailing
• elegiac
• black

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• cheerful
• joyous
• sunny
• cheery
• joyful
• happy
• upbeat
• buoyant
• jubilant
• blissful
• glad
• gleeful
• exuberant
• merry
• buoyed
• jovial
• euphoric
• jolly
• ecstatic
• optimistic
• exultant
• delighted
• rapturous
• chipper
• mirthful
• rosy
• rhapsodic
• jocular
• enraptured
• excited
• hopeful
• blithe
• jocose
• sanguine
• gladsome
• elated
• energetic
• exhilarated
• overjoyed
• spirited
• lively
• jocund
• gladdened
• blithesome
• vital
• vivacious
• perky
• smiling
• lightsome
• content
• entranced
• frisky
• animated
• springy
• sprightly
• jaunty
• peppy
• satisfied
• laughing
• bouncing
• encouraged
• pleased
• careless
• lighthearted
• thrilled
• carefree
• zippy
• unconcerned
• gratified
• grinning
• easygoing
• cavalier
• insouciant
• heartened
• boon
• sprightful
• beaming
• happy-go-lucky
• devil-may-care

3

as in darkened

being without light or without much light

that house would be less gloomy if some of the overgrown trees and shrubs were cleared away

Synonyms & Similar Words

• darkened
• dark
• murky
• somber
• black
• dim
• dusky
• obscured
• lightless
• dimmed
• dusk
• darkish
• obscure
• darkling
• stygian
• darksome
• unlit
• pitch-black
• pitch-dark
• tenebrous
• pitchy
• caliginous
• rayless
• twilit
• crepuscular
• misty
• gray
• lackluster
• tenebrific
• cloudy
• shadowy
• moonless
• starless
• shady
• dull
• dulled
• foggy
• clouded
• pale
• leaden
• smoggy
• sunless
• fuliginous
• soupy
• shadowlike
• befogged
• beclouded

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• light
• bright
• brilliant
• luminous
• illuminated
• shining
• lit
• brightened
• lucid
• sparkling
• lightsome
• radiant
• illumined
• lucent
• glaring
• resplendent
• incandescent
• glowing
• effulgent
• beamy
• lambent
• alight
• beaming
• shiny
• glossy
• lustrous
• aglitter
• sunlit
• agleam
• moonlit
• moony
• highlighted
• relucent
• ultrabright
• ablaze
• spotlighted
• starlit
• floodlit

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective gloomy contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of gloomy are bleak, cheerless, desolate, dismal, and dreary. While all these words mean "devoid of cheer or comfort," gloomy often suggests lack of hope or promise.

gloomy war news

When might bleak be a better fit than gloomy?

While in some cases nearly identical to gloomy, bleak suggests chill, dull, and barren characteristics that utterly dishearten.

the bleak years of the depression

When would cheerless be a good substitute for gloomy?

In some situations, the words cheerless and gloomy are roughly equivalent. However, cheerless stresses absence of anything cheering.

a drab and cheerless office

When is desolate a more appropriate choice than gloomy?

The meanings of desolate and gloomy largely overlap; however, desolate adds an element of utter remoteness or lack of human contact to any already disheartening aspect.

a desolate outpost

When can dismal be used instead of gloomy?

While the synonyms dismal and gloomy are close in meaning, dismal indicates extreme and utterly depressing gloominess.

dismal weather

Where would dreary be a reasonable alternative to gloomy?

The words dreary and gloomy can be used in similar contexts, but dreary, often interchangeable with dismal, emphasizes discouragement resulting from sustained dullness or futility.

a dreary job

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of gloomy

Thursday was a cloudy, gloomy day in Dublin, but the rain and overcast skies weren’t enough to deter TCU fans from painting Ireland purple. — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Aug. 2026

Peter Cullen, the Canadian voice actor who starred as the heroic Optimus Prime in a convoy of Transformers films, TV shows and video games and as the gloomy Eeyore in dozens of Winnie the Pooh projects, has died. — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 27 Aug. 2026

My journalistic interest in the world’s favorite dessert was first piqued on a gloomy December day in 2009, when a friend and I toured a chocolate factory. — Kendra Nordin Beato, Christian Science Monitor, 21 Aug. 2026

Friday through Sunday afternoon temperatures will stay in the lower to mid-80s thanks to the gloomier weather. — Cutter Martin, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026