adjective
Other Word Forms
- joylessly adverb
- joylessness noun
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.
MIAMI—Despite arriving with one of the greatest rosters ever assembled, Team USA found a way to make its time at the World Baseball Classic look rather joyless.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026
Zalaegerszeg in western Hungary does not get to join the hall of infamy, not after Scotland won a fairly joyless, but wholly professional, behind-closed-doors contest against Belarus.
From BBC • Sep. 9, 2025
I agree with Molly Jong-Fast that the tone of non-stop outrage from that era backfired, by making liberals seem joyless and hysterical.
From Salon • Nov. 22, 2024
But from the snapshots we see, these encounters seem mostly humiliating and joyless.
From New York Times • Apr. 25, 2024
His smile is sharp as a scim and as joyless.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
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.
