bleak1
[bleek]
- bare, desolate, and often windswept: a bleak plain.
- cold and piercing; raw: a bleak wind.
- without hope or encouragement; depressing; dreary: a bleak future.
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Origin of bleak1
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
Synonym study
3. See austere.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
desolateausteredrearychillycoldgrimlonelyharshsombersaddarkgloomydismalbareblankburneddesertdesertedexposedflatExamples from the Web for bleaker
Contemporary Examples
In the Districts—the cities and towns of New York—the reality is bleaker.
Of course it's pretty hard to see the regime compromising, but other avenues are bleaker still.
That Chenoweth would be suited to a role that channels the bleaker parts of her past should come as no surprise.
It means that the outlook for immigration reform will only get bleaker.
Historical Examples
The rain had ceased; but the night was dark, and the wind was bleaker than ever.
The Lock And Key LibraryVarious
Greg's face was bleaker than usual as he turned from the board to look at Russ.
EmpireClifford Donald Simak
The bleaker the situation, so it is near a stream border, the better the cassiope loves it.
The Land of Little RainMary Austin
They reached Waterville an hour later, and they found it even smaller and bleaker than they expected.
The CandidateJoseph Alexander Altsheler
It is like a fire that flares up brilliantly for a while and then leaves everything blacker and bleaker than before.
bleak1
- exposed and barren; desolate
- cold and raw
- offering little hope or excitement; dismala bleak future
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Word Origin
Old English blāc bright, pale; related to Old Norse bleikr white, Old High German bleih pale
bleak2
- any slender silvery European cyprinid fish of the genus Alburnus, esp A. lucidus, occurring in slow-flowing rivers
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Word Origin
C15: probably from Old Norse bleikja white colour; related to Old High German bleiche bleach
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for bleaker
bleak
adj.
c.1300, "pale," from Old Norse bleikr "pale, whitish, blond," from Proto-Germanic *blaika- "shining, white," from PIE root *bhel- (1) "to shine, flash, burn" (see bleach (v.)). Later "bare, windswept" (1530s). Sense of "cheerless" is c.1719 figurative extension. The same Germanic root produced Old English blac "pale," but this died out, probably from confusion with blæc "black;" however bleak persisted, with a sense of "bare" as well as "pale."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper