Dictionary.com

bleak

1
[ bleek ]
/ blik /
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.

QUIZZES

THIS PSAT VOCABULARY QUIZ IS PERFECT PRACTICE FOR THE REAL TEST

In our third teacher-created PSAT practice test there are new and unique vocabulary terms you may have never heard of! Can you guess what they mean?
Question 1 of 10
seclusion
a false belief or opinion.
the matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid.
the state of being isolated, kept apart, or withdrawn into solitude.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of bleak

1
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

Definition 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

2
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. 2021

Words related to bleak

desolate, austere, dreary, chilly, cold, grim, lonely, harsh, somber, sad, dark, gloomy, dismal, bare, blank, burned, cleared, desert, deserted, exposed

Example sentences from the Web for bleak

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