bleak
1 Americanadjective
-
bare, desolate, and often windswept.
a bleak plain.
-
cold and piercing; raw.
a bleak wind.
-
without hope or encouragement; depressing; dreary.
a bleak future.
noun
adjective
-
exposed and barren; desolate
-
cold and raw
-
offering little hope or excitement; dismal
a bleak future
noun
Synonym Usage
See austere.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of bleak1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English bleke “pale,” blend of variants bleche ( Old English blǣc ) and blake ( Old English blāc ); both cognate with Old Norse bleikr, German bleich; akin to bleach
Origin of bleak2
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English bleke, noun use of bleke “pale”; see bleak 1
Explanation
Something that is bleak is gloomy and depressing. If it's raining and dark, you might describe the night as bleak. If you have looked for work and no one will hire you, you could describe your prospects as bleak. If you and the ten people sharing your lifeboat have been adrift for ten days and are down to your last cracker, your situation is bleak. A near synonym is dismal. Bleak is from Middle English bleik, from Old Norse bleikr, "white, pale." This word is related to the English word bleach.
Vocabulary lists containing bleak
"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe
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"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
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List 6
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Eliot theorized in his 1925 poem “The Hollow Men,” a bleak assessment of life after the first world war.
From Barron's • Jun. 1, 2026
It’s crucial to keep in mind the short-term relevance of contrarian analysis because the stock market’s longer-term prospects are quite bleak, as I discussed in a recent column on the stock market’s overvaluation.
From MarketWatch • May 28, 2026
And though the reporting coming out of there during the first Trump administration often seemed bleak, Ribeiro’s memories of those days in El Paso are joyful because of its people.
From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026
AI isn’t the harbinger of bleak youth unemployment—it is quite the opposite.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026
At that Ged left off his bleak thoughts and his gazing ahead over the sea, and he saluted Yarrow more earnestly, perhaps, than Vetch.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
