Synonyms

cheerless

American

[cheer-lis] / ˈtʃɪər lɪs /

adjective

without cheer; joyless; gloomy.

drab, cheerless surroundings.

cheerless British

/ ˈtʃɪəlɪs /

adjective

dreary, gloomy, or pessimistic

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of cheerless

First recorded in 1570–80; cheer + -less

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.

Typically, filing an extension isn’t a matter of putting off a cheerless chore.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026

This cheerless club was grouchily owned, poorly assembled, haphazardly managed, chronically undermanned, and, worst of all, dull.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026

But in the camp's cheerless food market we met women who pointed out that their children are guilty of nothing and pleaded for them to have a normal life.

From BBC • Jan. 29, 2026

The cheerless rollout of GPT-5 could bring the day of reckoning closer.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 20, 2025

Or perhaps my sitting in the library with an intensely cheerless, poetic look on my face only scared girls away.

From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023