gloom

[gloom]

See more synonyms for gloom on Thesaurus.com

noun

total or partial darkness; dimness.
a state of melancholy or depression; low spirits.
a despondent or depressed look or expression.

verb (used without object)

to appear or become dark, dim, or somber.
to look sad, dismal, or dejected; frown.

verb (used with object)

to fill with gloom; make gloomy or sad; sadden.
to make dark or somber.

Origin of gloom

1300–50; Middle English gloumben, glomen to frown, perhaps representing Old English *glūmian (akin to early German gläumen to make turbid); see glum

Related formsgloom·ful, adjectivegloom·ful·ly, adverbgloom·less, adjectiveout·gloom, verb (used with object)un·der·gloom, nounun·gloom, verb (used with object)

Synonyms for gloom

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com

1. shadow, shade, obscurity. 2. dejection, despondency, sadness.

Antonyms for gloom

1. brightness. 2. cheerfulness.

glooms

[gloomz]

plural noun

the blues; melancholy (usually preceded by the).

Origin of glooms

First recorded in 1735–45; see origin at gloom, -s³

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for gloom

doldrums, malaise, foreboding, sorrow, pessimism, bitterness, weariness, grief, sadness, despair, misery, woe, discouragement, anguish, horror, shadow, cloud, distress, blues, unhappiness

Examples from the Web for gloom

Contemporary Examples of gloom

They peered out into the gloom from Battery Park and could not make out her form.
128 Years Old and Still a Looker: Happy Birthday to Lady Liberty
Elizabeth Mitchell
October 28, 2014
He is rather drawn to figures in pain, to the primordial, and to gloom.
Trading Dime Bags for Salvador Dali
Jason McGahan
October 19, 2014
In the gloom the flash of missiles impacting in the distance heartened them.
America’s WTF Air War in Syria
Jamie Dettmer
October 6, 2014
To add to the gloom, several high-profile Ebola cases have occurred in health-care workers treating patients with the disease.
What Ebola on a Plane Means for the U.S.
Kent Sepkowitz
August 7, 2014
Yet jollity and gloom are still at war in our censorious age.
A History of American Fun
Stefan Beck
February 9, 2014

Historical Examples of gloom

Its conditions are gloomier, and it consorts more easily with gloom.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
It is a charming spot, even in the gloom of a wintry afternoon.
Yorkshire Painted And Described
Gordon Home
This increased his astonishment, and did not lessen the gloom on his face.
Ester Ried Yet Speaking
Isabella Alden
But at that moment an inspiration came to lighten the gloom.
The Bacillus of Beauty
Harriet Stark
Just a tiny little ray of sunshine had dispelled all the gloom for a minute.
Thoroughbreds
W. A. Fraser

British Dictionary definitions for gloom

gloom

noun

partial or total darkness
a state of depression or melancholy
an appearance or expression of despondency or melancholy
poetic a dim or dark place

verb

(intr) to look sullen or depressed
to make or become dark or gloomy

Derived Formsgloomful, adjectivegloomfully, adverbgloomless, adjective

Word Origin for gloom

C14 gloumben to look sullen; related to Norwegian dialect glome to eye suspiciously

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

Word Origin and History for gloom

c.1300 as a verb, "to look sullen or displeased," perhaps from Scandinavian (cf. Norwegian dialectal glome "to stare somberly"). Not considered to be related to Old English glom "twilight," but perhaps to Middle Low German glum "turbid," Dutch gluren "to leer." The noun is 1590s in Scottish, "sullen look," from the verb. Sense of "darkness, obscurity" is first recorded 1629 in Milton's poetry; that of "melancholy" is 1744 (gloomy in this sense is attested from 1580s).