dreary

adjective

ˈdrir-ē How to pronounce dreary (audio)
Definition of drearynext
1
as in bleak
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer vowed that he would never take a desk job working in a dreary office

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in depressing
causing unhappiness decided to see a professional counselor in order to save their dreary marriage

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in boring
causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest another dreary social event to suffer through

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective dreary contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of dreary are bleak, cheerless, desolate, dismal, and gloomy. While all these words mean "devoid of cheer or comfort," dreary, often interchangeable with dismal, emphasizes discouragement resulting from sustained dullness or futility.

a dreary job

When might bleak be a better fit than dreary?

The meanings of bleak and dreary largely overlap; however, bleak suggests chill, dull, and barren characteristics that utterly dishearten.

the bleak years of the depression

When can cheerless be used instead of dreary?

While in some cases nearly identical to dreary, cheerless stresses absence of anything cheering.

a drab and cheerless office

Where would desolate be a reasonable alternative to dreary?

The words desolate and dreary can be used in similar contexts, but desolate adds an element of utter remoteness or lack of human contact to any already disheartening aspect.

a desolate outpost

In what contexts can dismal take the place of dreary?

The words dismal and dreary are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, dismal indicates extreme and utterly depressing gloominess.

dismal weather

When could gloomy be used to replace dreary?

In some situations, the words gloomy and dreary are roughly equivalent. However, gloomy often suggests lack of hope or promise.

gloomy war news

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dreary Instead of dreary Danish castles, the action unfolds in boardrooms, mansions and wedding halls in contemporary London and the verse is delivered by a primarily South Asian cast. —Brent Lang, Variety, 5 Sep. 2025 The untitled film follows best friends Tess and DeeDee, train stewardesses who trade their dreary shifts on the Stank Rail for the glitzy Glamazonian Express. —Glenn Garner, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2025 Credit should also go to whoever scouted and dressed the deliberately dreary locations used, a selection of bare concrete architecture in what looks like the cheating side of every town. —Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2025 Normal people just find the whole brand overhaul ugly and dreary and cheap-looking. —Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 22 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for dreary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dreary
  1. bleak
  2. depressing
  3. boring
  4. dark
  5. sad
  6. tiring
  7. lonely
  8. pathetic
Adjective
  • Yes, there are good reasons to question NASA's long-term plans for the Artemis lunar program—the woeful cost of the Space Launch System rocket, the complexity of new commercial landers, and a bleak budget outlook.
    — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 12 Sep. 2025
  • That's rather bleak, while Charlie Sheen's life has just been bonkers.
    — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 12 Sep. 2025
Definition of bleak
Adjective
  • His relentless prepackaged positivity — even in the wake of depressing game day results — turned him into something of a punch line.
    — Ian O'Connor, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
  • The depressing effect of the seasonality is somewhat offset by the ‘5’ effect.
    — Bill Sarubbi, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Definition of depressing
Adjective
  • But Anderson also knows that the moral purity of revolutionaries gets boring pretty fast.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 18 Sep. 2025
  • However, the McCullum and Stokes selection wagon prefers fast wheels rather than those boring job specs, such as age and experience.
    — Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Definition of boring
Adjective
  • The night serum visibly smooths wrinkles, reduces fine lines, and soothes the appearance of dark circles and uneven skin tone.
    — Gabriela Izquierdo, Southern Living, 17 Sep. 2025
  • The scent is smoky yet sweet, spicy yet smooth, dark but with an underlying lightness—the result of combining clean white musk with rose, tobacco, suede, and cumin.
    — Sophia Panych, Allure, 16 Sep. 2025
Definition of dark
Adjective
  • This one is trickier and sadder to think about.
    — Brian Welk, IndieWire, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Composite image created by Newsweek shows two older people looking worried and a piggy bank with a sad face on its side.
    — Aliss Higham, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
Definition of sad
Adjective
  • Without a strict hierarchy or single decision-maker, our process can sometimes be slow, messy, or even tiring.
    — Caterina De Biasio, Vogue, 11 Sep. 2025
  • The film is a mess, opaque in its argument and tiring in its effortful weirdness, and yet in its best moments has a hypnotic pull.
    — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 7 Sep. 2025
Definition of tiring
Adjective
  • Breaking free from the isolation tax isn’t just about feeling less lonely.
    — Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
  • There are a lot of lonely people out there.
    — Latoya Gayle, PEOPLE, 14 Sep. 2025
Definition of lonely
Adjective
  • The end of that era came slowly, through the pathetic collapse of Syria and Lebanon as functioning states, and then quickly, when Israel began touching Hezbollah in unexpected places.
    — Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
  • Want the poop on this pathetic history?
    — Brian Domitrovic, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
Definition of pathetic

Browse Nearby Words

dreariness
dreary
dreck
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Cite this Entry

“Dreary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dreary. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.

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