mirthless

Definition of mirthlessnext

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 mirthless One thing the record makes clear is that Anderson is not afraid to mix humor into her work, proving that avant-garde performance mustn’t be mirthless or without joy. David Harris, SPIN, 11 May 2026 Historically, autocrats are a mirthless bunch. David Remnick, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2025 Splashes of elegance in gravestone carving appear as the mirthless old Puritans die, people get richer, and London goes royal. Brian T. Allen, National Review, 19 July 2025 Why is this one mirthless and artless? Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 29 Jan. 2025 Yet there was a mirthless response from those around him; a realisation there was an element of truth to his chant. Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 30 Dec. 2024 His mirthless laugh might have suggested Kafkaesque persecution, or Hardyesque inexorability of fate. Tad Friend, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mirthless
Adjective
  • After three seasons of almost nothing but dread and sorrow, the NBA’s most woebegone franchise, for generations, finally had a moment to celebrate.
    David Aldridge, New York Times, 11 May 2026
  • The Clippers rallied from a chaotic 6-21 start to finish 42-40 in this once-woebegone franchise's 15th consecutive winning season — the NBA's longest active streak.
    CBS News, CBS News, 15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • The storm let up before daybreak, but the morning was gray and cheerless with a cold wind.
    Elwyn "Bud" Myers, Outdoor Life, 11 Mar. 2026
  • This episode is disappointingly cheerless overall—it’s not frosted, tinsely, glowing, silver with bells and mist, or snowy.
    Jenny Singer, Glamour, 3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • The sad thing is that the miseries return, but there is no other Garrincha available.
    Jack Lang, New York Times, 28 May 2026
  • Our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to Cesar's family and friends during this very sad time.
    Jesse Zanger, CBS News, 28 May 2026
Adjective
  • Cancer House make downer music with the same allure, where all things lugubrious offer a strange, addictive solace.
    Joshua Minsoo Kim, Pitchfork, 13 Apr. 2026
  • Four Spent the Day Together is a flat, at times lugubrious account of losing such conviction.
    Rosa Lyster, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
Adjective
  • Early Years Eichenberg recounted his childhood with some melancholy.
    Jessica George, JSTOR Daily, 27 May 2026
  • But most memorably, the Bellucci plays a lonely, melancholy artist living on the farm whose role holds the key to the movie’s (however narrow) emotional strengths.
    Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 22 May 2026
Adjective
  • In a morose Season 2, the group, now shrunken to a fivesome, with Ginny and her baby sometimes in tow, grapples with life after Nick and what their respective next chapters might bring.
    Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 28 May 2026
  • In search of a fresh sound after Bucketgate, Bieber found it with Skrillex and Diplo, veteran dance-music producers who took a morose piano ballad that Bieber and his frequent accomplice Poo Bear had demoed and turned it into a glimmering boudoir-rave fantasia.
    Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • In contrast, Bruno’s moments with his dad carry melancholic undertones.
    Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 25 May 2026
  • A little bit Brian Eno, a little bit Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru, that melancholic piano melody backgrounded wistful beach B-roll and day-in-my-lifes, a bittersweet evocation whose virality began with a dog meme.
    Linnie Greene, Pitchfork, 29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • And the dejected diehard of a downtrodden franchise isn’t truly stuck in a one-sided detrimental relationship.
    Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 11 May 2026
  • Fans started to file out of the park in the sixth inning, when Houston led 10-0, with a collective expression of dejected gold.
    Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 5 Apr. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Mirthless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mirthless. Accessed 2 Jun. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on mirthless

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster