JOYLESS Synonyms: 168 Similar and Opposite Words

joyless

adjective

Definition of joyless next

as in unhappy

feeling unhappiness was utterly joyless after his bitter divorce

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 joyless It was filled with joyless body language, caused by Gauff losing touch with the relaxation routines, like going to her towel and breathing or eating some fruit. —

Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 26 May 2026 Like the then French President’s 2002 joyless re-election over the far-right candidate Marie Le Pen, Bass could win handily over Pratt by default. —

Dominic Patten, Deadline, 20 May 2026 Word around baseball is all the losing has turned the Mets clubhouse, which has already been fractured these past couple years, into a joyless brig. —

Bill Madden, New York Daily News, 2 May 2026 Of course, in Louisiana, with its cheap, abundant, and locally refined gasoline, many civilians drive these behemoths, too, so at school pickups, organizers asked parents to roll their windows down and blast music, something that joyless agents would never do. —

Daniel Brook, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026 If Panahi’s interview had been a joyless commiseration-fest, that would have been more than acceptable. —

Bethy Squires, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2026 Leadership sets the tone, and right now that tone feels tense and joyless. —

Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2026 Pills even out her emotions but her brain is joyless. —

Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 11 Jan. 2026 By comparison—and in contrast to its buoyant first season—Stranger Things has devolved into a joyless, uninspired, unidirectional slog. —

Judy Berman, Time, 26 Dec. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for joyless

Adjective

Carting around unhappy campers in 100-degree weather and squeezing work into a shorter window is not exactly being poolside with a marg.

— Abby McCloskey, Twin Cities, 4 June 2026
Mansfield city hall a point of contention Melissa Perez, who ultimately lost to Simmons in last year’s council race, is one of those unhappy with Mansfield’s leadership and its direction.

— Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 June 2026