Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for cheerless. Search instead for cheeriest.
Synonyms

cheerless

American  
[cheer-lis] / ˈtʃɪər lɪs /

adjective

  1. without cheer; joyless; gloomy.

    drab, cheerless surroundings.


cheerless British  
/ ˈtʃɪəlɪs /

adjective

  1. dreary, gloomy, or pessimistic

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of cheerless

First recorded in 1570–80; cheer + -less

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.

But in the camp's cheerless food market we met women who pointed out that their children are guilty of nothing and pleaded for them to have a normal life.

From BBC • Jan. 29, 2026

Our beginning-of-the-year customs go hand in hand with its bleakness as we choose to make ourselves more cheerless by abstaining from things we enjoy, while pushing ourselves towards the more mundane and less exciting.

From Salon • Jan. 29, 2025

Cashiers at the supermarket knew them as a quiet, cheerless family that shopped several times a week.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 18, 2023

In 2016, Colburn — the community music school, conservatory, academy and dance school — bought a cheerless outdoor parking lot on the corner of 2nd and Olive streets downtown for $33 million.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2022

By nightfall they were all soaked, and their camp was cheerless, for they could not get any fire to burn.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "cheerless" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com