as in unhappy
feeling unhappiness
was utterly joyless after his bitter divorce
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Recent Examples of joyless
The previous decade included the organizational mayhem of Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and the drudgery of Tokyo in 2020, a joyless experience that unfolded in empty venues of a city that had no interest in staging the event as Japan and the rest of the world tried to emerge from the scourge of COVID-19.
—
Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2026
Pills even out her emotions but her brain is joyless.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 11 Jan. 2026
The more renowned the art, the greater the number of clueless lookers, joyless collectors, donors in search of tax breaks, and steroidal museums.
—Jackson Arn, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
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
The joyless union is being pushed by Lord and Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston) so that the wealth stays in the family.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 3 Dec. 2025
This hopelessly dreary production is intent on capturing only the compulsive, joyless comedown of its main character’s kamikaze choice to blow his life up.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
The idea propagated by Saturday Night Live skits and sitcom one-liners that Lilith Fair was a misandrist showcase for joyless, hormonal angst was totally alien to accounts of what being there actually felt like.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 30 Sep. 2025
This joyless, crass Platinum Dunes remake (directed by Marcus Nispel) regurgitates the original’s plot with additional gore but without any of the sharp wit.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Sep. 2025
Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2026
Pills even out her emotions but her brain is joyless.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 11 Jan. 2026
The more renowned the art, the greater the number of clueless lookers, joyless collectors, donors in search of tax breaks, and steroidal museums.
—Jackson Arn, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
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
The joyless union is being pushed by Lord and Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston) so that the wealth stays in the family.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 3 Dec. 2025
This hopelessly dreary production is intent on capturing only the compulsive, joyless comedown of its main character’s kamikaze choice to blow his life up.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
The idea propagated by Saturday Night Live skits and sitcom one-liners that Lilith Fair was a misandrist showcase for joyless, hormonal angst was totally alien to accounts of what being there actually felt like.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 30 Sep. 2025
This joyless, crass Platinum Dunes remake (directed by Marcus Nispel) regurgitates the original’s plot with additional gore but without any of the sharp wit.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for joyless
Adjective
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For Adams’ Laura, its restorative properties are compromised by ever-present memories of her unhappy childhood, many of them directly associated with the family’s gorgeous summer house.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Feb. 2026
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Competitive equity playoffs There’s still coaches unhappy with the Southern Section competitive equity playoff system using computer algorithms to place teams in divisions.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Meanwhile, Nancy Guthrie's Arizona community gathered for a vigil Wednesday evening while the world can't look away from an incident that is deeply, horrifically sad and frightening.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
5 Feb. 2026
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The song is sophisticated and simple, sad and somehow triumphant.—
Jed Gottlieb,
Boston Herald,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Our bull thesis was based on the stock’s price-to-earnings multiple re-rating higher from a depressed valuation after the spin.—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
10 Feb. 2026
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The latter initially presents in Ferrari yellow until its depressed into the central console, at which point the key turns black, the top of the glass shifter turns yellow, and all the instrumentation activates.—
Viju Mathew,
Robb Report,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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This season has turned out to be worse than anyone could possibly have imagined, with another injury crisis and truly miserable performances and results under Frank.—
Jack Pitt-Brooke,
New York Times,
14 Feb. 2026
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For this Welsh immigrant family rose from nothing to produce an American icon who mastered a distinctly American art form — the ultimate apotheosis of the American Dream — and who is, ironically, the most miserable of them all.—
Ben Croll,
IndieWire,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Martin, meanwhile, left heartbroken.—
Brendan Quinn,
New York Times,
7 Feb. 2026
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Though heartbroken, Punsalan and Swallow decided to compete at Lillehammer anyway.—
Natasha O'Neill,
Vanity Fair,
3 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Not with breaking transfer news but with an umpteenth text asking what was up and, with more melancholy, why more wasn’t up and why everyone was being so frugal.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
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The experience promises to be bracingly new, chaotic, and exciting, but there was inevitably a melancholy tinge to this year’s edition, which became, in effect—and affect—an eleven-day farewell.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
31 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Investigators are buried in leads The influx of tips generated in the case – further fueled by the release this week of footage captured by Guthrie’s doorbell camera – is both good and bad for law enforcement.—
Elizabeth Hartfield,
CNN Money,
16 Feb. 2026
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But the lack of bigger tax cuts does not inherently make the grocery tax repeal bad.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
16 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Cathy’s, um, secretions Fennell’s tendency to shock us only lightly comes (sorry) into full effect when Cathy steals off to the moors to masturbate against a giant rock, overwhelmed by her feelings for Heathcliff.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2026
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Liverpool’s sorry state Liverpool were sitting pretty for a short time at Anfield, driven in front by another epic strike from Szoboszlai (above).—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Joyless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/joyless. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
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