dreary

[ dreer-ee ]

adjective

, drear·i·er, drear·i·est.

1. causing sadness or gloom.

   Synonyms: comfortless, depressing, cheerless, drear, dismal, gloomy

   Antonyms: cheerful

2. dull; boring.

   Synonyms: tiresome, wearisome, monotonous, tedious

   Antonyms: interesting

3. sorrowful; sad.

dreary

/ ˈdrɪərɪ /

adjective

1. sad or dull; dismal
2. wearying; boring
3. archaic.
   miserable

Derived Forms

• ˈdrearily, adverb
• ˈdreariness, noun

Other Words From

• dreari·ly adverb
• dreari·ness noun
• dreari·some adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dreary¹

before 900; Middle English drery, Old English drēorig gory, cruel, sad, equivalent to drēor gore + -ig -y ¹; akin to Old Norse dreyrigr bloody, German traurig sad

Word History and Origins

Origin of dreary¹

Old English drēorig gory; related to Old High German trūreg sad

Example Sentences

On Andrew Boyce’s satisfyingly familiar-looking set of a bland motel room, the sort of dreary interior you find in a Sam Shepard play, Waters and Hnath indulge in a few unexpected pyrotechnics.

From Washington Post

Against the dreary backdrop of being homebound in a global health crisis, I signed up for private pottery lessons, drawn viscerally to the idea of creating something from mud.

From Science News

Demon’s Souls tells the story of a valiant and obviously suicidal hero tasked with battling the forces of evil in the dreary land of Boletaria.

From Popular-Science

The Washington Nationals turned to Max Scherzer to salvage the final game of a dreary Memorial Day weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers before they depart for a long and potentially meaningful road trip.

From Washington Post

The mention of summer school conjured up images of sweaty classrooms and dreary assignments meted out as makeup work for a year of flunked tests, missing projects or excessive absences.

From Washington Post

The Daily Beast met Stevens in a dreary New York hotel room.

From The Daily Beast

Unlike the dreary industrial region of Donbass where the fighting is concentrated, Crimea has great potential as a tourist center.

From The Daily Beast

Its name may sound dreary, but the Chambre du Commerce is considered a classical gem, dating back to 1878.

From The Daily Beast

(Read More on the Crisis in Ukraine) Old, numerous and bipartisan are the tales that corroborate this dreary hypothesis.

From The Daily Beast

Roberts starred as the titular servant in the dreary drama, with Malkovich as Dr. Henry Jekyll/Mr.

From The Daily Beast

But for the trees, these sullen skies and level grounds would render England dreary enough.

From Project Gutenberg

They rented a house, for the place didn't afford a parsonage, and began the long dreary year that was to follow.

From Project Gutenberg

A damp mist rose from the river and the marshy ground about, and spread itself over the dreary fields.

From Project Gutenberg

I know this small organ well—an old friend on dreary mornings, putting the laziest riser in a good humor for the day.

From Project Gutenberg

It looked on to Hyde Park, and a very white and dreary park it was on that particular day.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bleak
• boring
• colorless
• damp
• depressing
• dingy
• dismal
• drab
• dull
• forlorn
• humdrum
• lonely
• monotonous
• sad
• somber
• tedious
• uneventful
• uninteresting
• windy
• wintry