gloomy
Americanadjective
-
gloomier,
comparative
-
gloomiest
superlative
-
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
Synonym Usage
See dark ( def. ).
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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gloominessnoun
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overgloominessnoun
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overgloomyadjective
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ungloomyadjective
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gloomilyadverb
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overgloomilyadverb
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ungloomilyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
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.
See Examples For:
Edwar has been advocating for women's causes for over 50 years and her assessment is gloomy: "Twenty-three years after Saddam Hussein's regime was brought down, it seems we are going backwards regarding women's rights."
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
A fascinating passage of play halted when things get too gloomy.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Americans are spending more on food, travel, couches, Halloween decor and most anything else they want or need—pushing through inflation and their own gloomy feelings about the economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Instead he’s getting sucked into the gloomy vibes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
It was a gloomy and primeval spot, deeply shadowed in the gray dusk.
From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien
That is the contention of Marieke Blom, chief economist at Dutch bank ING, who has embarked on a mission to correct some of the gloomier misconceptions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
The only thing gloomier than the leaden skies at lunch on day of the third Test at Edgbaston will have been the mood in the Pakistan dressing room as things went from bad to worse.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
The picture was gloomier in Europe, with new listings raising just $13.3 billion on the continent across 83 deals, according to Mergermarket.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
U.S. stocks took a breather from their rally to fresh record highs on Tuesday as investors confronted a gloomier inflation backdrop.
From MarketWatch ● May 12, 2026
Snape had imposed his personality upon the room already; it was gloomier than usual, as curtains had been drawn over the windows, and was lit by candlelight.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Even the gloomiest prognosticator thinks a formal default is highly unlikely, and the idea that it might happen within six years is in the very outside realm of risk.
From MarketWatch ● May 15, 2026
“I’m the gloomiest I’ve been since 1979,” one economist told The Wall Street Journal at the time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 14, 2026
Slap-bang in the middle of a month that is all about freezing drizzle and self-denial, the third Monday in January is notoriously the gloomiest day of the year.
From BBC ● Jan. 18, 2026
On a stormy, steamy summer day in 2003, as I approached the Gasometer Oberhausen, which the Third Reich used for fuel storage, I expected the enormous cylindrical structure would prove the gloomiest building in Germany.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2024
I took dinner usually at the Yale Club--for some reason it was the gloomiest event of my day--and then I went upstairs to the library and studied investments and securities for a conscientious hour.
From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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.
