bleak
1 Americanadjective
-
bleaker,
comparative
-
bleakest
superlative
-
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
-
bleaks
plural
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
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
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.
See Examples For:
Like many Zimbabweans facing bleak economic prospects at home, the cousins were chasing better opportunities, in a story echoed across the continent.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Dmitry Muratov paints a bleak picture of life in Russia for critics of the authorities.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Here the surroundings are less bleak, the library better, the prisoners friendlier.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
The spring home-buying season was a disappointment, and the bleak outlook for summer sales kept home-builder confidence low in June.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026
A hundred years ago there was a hotel on this bleak, forbidding spot, and its wind-worn foundations are still a landmark—I have seen it in photographs—but I have no recollection of it now.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
We once caught in an hour 6000 fishes like bleaks.
From A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 08 by Robert Kerr
For young Americans, though, the job landscape was much bleaker.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
Last month, the multilateral lender's World Economic Outlook predicted global growth would drop to 3.1 percent in 2026 in its "reference" scenario, but warned of a bleaker outlook if the war were to drag on.
From Barron's ● May 14, 2026
The mixed jobs picture reflects surging demand for people in healthcare and social services but a bleaker environment for government employees, factory workers and cubicle dwellers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
However, Arsenal themselves have a much bleaker record as they've been top at Christmas four times before but have never gone on to lift the trophy.
From BBC ● Dec. 20, 2025
“The situation is undoubtedly bleaker now,” they wrote.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
When I graduated from UC–Berkeley with my “useless” comparative literature degree, into one of the bleakest job markets in recent American memory, I thought to myself, There must be a loophole somewhere.
From Slate ● Mar. 20, 2026
Instead, millions of university graduates are entering the bleakest job market in years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026
The last connects to the bleakest memory outie Mark and his wife share – a miscarriage that followed months of difficulty conceiving.
From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2025
Just when the divisions seemed bleakest, I ran into Jim Kusters, a retiree and Trump supporter who was sitting for breakfast in Mt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2024
His music was what had brightened the bleakest days of his boyhood.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
