gloomy
Americanadjective
-
dark or dim; deeply shaded.
gloomy skies.
- Synonyms:
- threatening, lowering, dusky, shadowy, obscure
-
causing gloom; dismal or depressing.
a gloomy prospect.
-
filled with or showing gloom; sad, dejected, or melancholy.
- Synonyms:
- dispirited, glum, depressed, despondent, downhearted, downcast
- Antonyms:
- happy
-
hopeless or despairing; pessimistic.
a gloomy view of the future.
adjective
-
dark or dismal
-
causing depression, dejection, or gloom
gloomy news
-
despairing; sad
Related Words
See dark ( def. ).
Other Word Forms
- gloomily adverb
- gloominess noun
- overgloomily adverb
- overgloominess noun
- overgloomy adjective
- ungloomily adverb
- ungloomy adjective
Etymology
Origin of gloomy
Explanation
Gloomy means "dark and dreary." A cloudy day, a sad song about lost love, your downbeat mood after your team loses a big game — all of these can be called gloomy. Have you ever been called a Gloomy Gus? If so, you must have been acting depressed or sulky. But you aren't the first to be called that — after all, Gloomy Gus was a comic book character who first appeared in 1904. By the 1940s, this nickname caught on, describing — and possibly adding to the misery — of those who are less happy-seeming than the people around them.
Vocabulary lists containing gloomy
Beowulf vocabulary
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 4
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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.
The 62-year-old added that among many emotions, he felt "gloomy for the future of the country after the war".
From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026
“Some of the short-term impacts we are seeing — Americans are frustrated, consumer sentiment is gloomy or even grim,” Long said.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026
Millepied uses the full building, following dancers with a video camera, but the gloomy Armory is no Disney or Bowl.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
Otherwise, though, this was a prime ministerial address peppered with gloomy language.
From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026
He was in the gloomy place he went to when he spoke about how the world had changed.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
