adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of joyless
First recorded in 1300–50, joyless is from the Middle English word joyles. See joy, -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.
That’s not to say it was an entirely joyless event.
From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026
“Stobaeus offers his son a strictly pagan view of the afterlife, as a grim and joyless eternity spent underground.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
Leadership sets the tone, and right now that tone feels tense and joyless.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2026
And it is not going to get any easier in his joyless, toxic reign at Tottenham.
From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2026
He announced that the national threat level, which had been jacked up to orange around the joyless first anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks, was being dropped.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
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.
