bleak

[ bleek ]

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.

Origin of bleak

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

synonym study For bleak

3. See austere.

Other words from bleak

bleakish, adjective
bleakly, adverb
bleakness, noun

Other definitions for bleak (2 of 2)

bleak²

[ bleek ]

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

First recorded in 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 | THE 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 | THE 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 | THE 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 | THE 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 | THE 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; dismal: a bleak future

Origin of bleak

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

Derived forms of bleak

bleakly, adverb
bleakness, noun

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

Origin of 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

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