bleak

[ bleek ]

/ blik /

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See synonyms for: bleak / bleaker / bleakest / bleakness on Thesaurus.com

adjective, bleak·er, bleak·est.

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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ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!

Question 1 of 7

True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

true

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Origin of bleak

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 for bleak

3. See austere.

OTHER WORDS FROM bleak

bleakish, adjectivebleakly, adverbbleakness, noun

Other definitions for bleak (2 of 2)

bleak²

[ bleek ]

/ blik /

noun

a European freshwater fish, Alburnus alburnus, having scales with a silvery pigment that is used in the production of artificial pearls.

Origin of bleak

1400–50; late Middle English bleke, noun use of bleke pale; see bleak¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bleak in a sentence

“Justice-without-mercy must easily be the bleakest, coldest, combination of words in the language,” Salinger writes.
When Salinger Spoke Out: A Rare 1959 Public Letter Against Life in Prison|Nicolaus Mills|December 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The nonprofit Samasource farms out manual data-entry work to refugees in the bleakest war-torn areas on earth.
Never Mind Inequality: Silicon Valley Enriches All of Our Lives|Gregory Ferenstein|May 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But it is precisely when conditions are bleakest that people on both sides require a positive vision for the future.
Old Problems and New Realities|Ahmed Moor|November 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
That comes a few hours after the jobs report from Friday morning, one of the bleakest yet.
A President Adrift|Michael Tomasky|September 2, 2011|DAILY BEAST

And working in politics at the bleakest moment is better than any other career that certainly was available to me.
A Q and A With Nicolle Wallace, Palin's Chaperone|Ana Marie Cox|October 28, 2008|DAILY BEAST
A farm of five hundred acres was secured within a week, the bleakest, coldest spot ever swept by ocean breezes anywhere.
Mrs. Raffles|John Kendrick Bangs
A gray dawn was breaking, and this is the coldest and bleakest hour of the day.
Left on the Labrador|Dillon Wallace
The bleakest portions of a farm should be pastured off in autumn, so as to reserve the sheltered spots for winter use.
A Treatise on Sheep:|Ambrose Blacklock
From tropic to the bleakest north, the cocks crow before the advancing margin of dawn.
The Outline of History: Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind|Herbert George Wells
How his heart flows out in sympathy over universal nature; and in her bleakest provinces discerns a beauty and a meaning!
Life of Robert Burns|Thomas Carlyle

British Dictionary definitions for bleak (1 of 2)

bleak¹

/ (bliːk) /

adjective

exposed and barren; desolate

cold and raw

offering little hope or excitement; dismala bleak future

Derived forms of bleak

bleakly, adverbbleakness, noun

Word Origin for bleak

Old English blāc bright, pale; related to Old Norse bleikr white, Old High German bleih pale

British Dictionary definitions for bleak (2 of 2)

bleak²

/ (bliːk) /

noun

any slender silvery European cyprinid fish of the genus Alburnus, esp A. lucidus, occurring in slow-flowing rivers

Word Origin for bleak

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

bleak

Origin of bleak

synonym study for bleak

OTHER WORDS FROM bleak

Other definitions for bleak (2 of 2)

Origin of bleak

Words related to bleak

How to use bleak in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bleak (1 of 2)

Derived forms of bleak

Word Origin for bleak

British Dictionary definitions for bleak (2 of 2)

Word Origin for bleak