1
as in darkly
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2
as in somberly
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Recent Examples of bleakly
But Cash’s most original and engaging writing is slightly out of step with reality and bleakly funny, devoted to wordplay and willing to be foolish about it.
—
Hannah Gold, New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2026
On the sixth day of the new year, normally a bleakly depressing time for corporate employees, Enhypen had a treat in store for their fans.
—Irene Kim, Vogue, 16 Jan. 2026
Pulling all the threads together, Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister and a key international ally of Ukraine, saw things bleakly.
—Andrew Carey, CNN Money, 29 Nov. 2025
Where other projects have found success discussing the same notions bleakly, Etzler trusts his sardonic approach will tempt audiences to let their guards down and allow the subject matter to resonate, perhaps looking inward at their own complicity in the process.
—Holly Jones, Variety, 26 Sep. 2025
Hannah Gold, New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2026
On the sixth day of the new year, normally a bleakly depressing time for corporate employees, Enhypen had a treat in store for their fans.
—Irene Kim, Vogue, 16 Jan. 2026
Pulling all the threads together, Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister and a key international ally of Ukraine, saw things bleakly.
—Andrew Carey, CNN Money, 29 Nov. 2025
Where other projects have found success discussing the same notions bleakly, Etzler trusts his sardonic approach will tempt audiences to let their guards down and allow the subject matter to resonate, perhaps looking inward at their own complicity in the process.
—Holly Jones, Variety, 26 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bleakly
Adverb
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The darkly comic horror-thriller stars Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien as coworkers stranded on a desert island.—
Pamela McClintock,
HollywoodReporter,
1 Feb. 2026
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Shot on gorgeous 35mm film, this darkly comedic horror flick is a nostalgic cinephile's dream.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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As a light dusting of snow fell over Minneapolis Sunday morning, community members lit candles, laid fresh flowers and stood somberly around a makeshift vigil at the site of Pretti’s death.—
Michael Biesecker,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Jan. 2026
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In October, family, friends and community members somberly walked out of the courthouse, disappointed to learn the resentencing hearing for Rhoades would be delayed.—
Kayla Moeller,
CBS News,
20 Dec. 2025
Adverb
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Others in the crowd, including rapper Snoop Dogg, watched quietly as the star skier was finally taken off the course.—
ANDREW DAMPF,
Arkansas Online,
9 Feb. 2026
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Individual personalities lean more toward quietly confident rather than brash.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Adverb
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The files were released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, though they were heavily redacted.—
Claire Carter,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Feb. 2026
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For the 2026 reimagining, Fennell worked with costume designer Jacqueline Durran to create dozens of costumes (Cathy alone, played by Margot Robbie, had 50) that were heavily inspired by the extravagant, unselfconscious and campy outfits of the mid-century.—
Leah Dolan,
CNN Money,
12 Feb. 2026
Adverb
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The film centers on Westley (Cary Elwes), a farmhand who goes on a noble quest to rescue his beloved Buttercup (Robin Wright) from the clutches of the loathsome Prince Humperdink (Chris Sarandon), to whom she's unhappily betrothed.—
James Mercadante,
Entertainment Weekly,
20 Jan. 2026
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The Old Globe: ‘Hedda Gabler’ Film and stage star Katie Holmes will play the title role in a new adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s 1891 Norwegian psychological drama about an unhappily married and controlling woman whose plot to financially ruin her former lover goes horribly awry.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Dec. 2025
Adverb
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These athletes run dozens of miles, generally in the heat, at altitude, or in bad weather, up and down mountains, all while attempting, sometimes miserably, to eat and drink enough to keep going.—
Dan England,
Outside,
5 Feb. 2026
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Brown then tried to ride the anti-tax, spending-limit movement into the White House two years later — but failed miserably.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
15 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bleakly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bleakly. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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