as in woebegone
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Recent Examples of mirthless
One thing the record makes clear is that Anderson is not afraid to mix humor into her work, proving that avant-garde performance mustn’t be mirthless or without joy.
—
David Harris, SPIN, 11 May 2026
Historically, autocrats are a mirthless bunch.
—David Remnick, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2025
Splashes of elegance in gravestone carving appear as the mirthless old Puritans die, people get richer, and London goes royal.
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 19 July 2025
Why is this one mirthless and artless?
—Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 29 Jan. 2025
Yet there was a mirthless response from those around him; a realisation there was an element of truth to his chant.
—Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 30 Dec. 2024
His mirthless laugh might have suggested Kafkaesque persecution, or Hardyesque inexorability of fate.
—Tad Friend, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024
Susan Faludi Laugh-In On the joyful Kamala Harris and the mirthless Donald Trump
Nathaniel Rich
Silent Spring
Why aren’t the candidates talking about climate change?
—Patricia J. Williams, The New York Review of Books, 18 Oct. 2024
David Harris, SPIN, 11 May 2026
Historically, autocrats are a mirthless bunch.
—David Remnick, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2025
Splashes of elegance in gravestone carving appear as the mirthless old Puritans die, people get richer, and London goes royal.
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 19 July 2025
Why is this one mirthless and artless?
—Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 29 Jan. 2025
Yet there was a mirthless response from those around him; a realisation there was an element of truth to his chant.
—Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 30 Dec. 2024
His mirthless laugh might have suggested Kafkaesque persecution, or Hardyesque inexorability of fate.
—Tad Friend, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024
Susan Faludi Laugh-In On the joyful Kamala Harris and the mirthless Donald Trump
Nathaniel Rich
Silent Spring
Why aren’t the candidates talking about climate change?
—Patricia J. Williams, The New York Review of Books, 18 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mirthless
Adjective
-
After three seasons of almost nothing but dread and sorrow, the NBA’s most woebegone franchise, for generations, finally had a moment to celebrate.—
David Aldridge,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
-
The Clippers rallied from a chaotic 6-21 start to finish 42-40 in this once-woebegone franchise's 15th consecutive winning season — the NBA's longest active streak.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The storm let up before daybreak, but the morning was gray and cheerless with a cold wind.—
Elwyn "Bud" Myers,
Outdoor Life,
11 Mar. 2026
-
This episode is disappointingly cheerless overall—it’s not frosted, tinsely, glowing, silver with bells and mist, or snowy.—
Jenny Singer,
Glamour,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
The failure of so many in the political world to speak up displays a sad and growing moral bankruptcy.—
Bobby Zirkin,
Baltimore Sun,
14 May 2026
-
Don’t be sad — this is not a farewell forever.—
Denni Hu,
Footwear News,
14 May 2026
Adjective
-
Cancer House make downer music with the same allure, where all things lugubrious offer a strange, addictive solace.—
Joshua Minsoo Kim,
Pitchfork,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Four Spent the Day Together is a flat, at times lugubrious account of losing such conviction.—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
He can be wounded and sensitive (as in In the Mood for Love), mysterious and melancholy (as in Wong’s 2046), or slick and savage (as in Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution).—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
14 May 2026
-
Certain Regard strand in 2016, or his melancholy, elegantly structured exploration of grief, Love Life, a Venice competitor from 2022.—
Leslie Felperin,
HollywoodReporter,
13 May 2026
Adjective
-
In search of a fresh sound after Bucketgate, Bieber found it with Skrillex and Diplo, veteran dance-music producers who took a morose piano ballad that Bieber and his frequent accomplice Poo Bear had demoed and turned it into a glimmering boudoir-rave fantasia.—
Mikael Wood,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Hsu plays Joy, a morose daughter of two Chinese immigrants.—
Rachel Syme,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
A little bit Brian Eno, a little bit Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru, that melancholic piano melody backgrounded wistful beach B-roll and day-in-my-lifes, a bittersweet evocation whose virality began with a dog meme.—
Linnie Greene,
Pitchfork,
29 Apr. 2026
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Over his decade-long career, the Puerto Rican superstar has been all of those things, boldly and inventively reshaping Latin music with his signature melancholic flow and nimble lyrics.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
And the dejected diehard of a downtrodden franchise isn’t truly stuck in a one-sided detrimental relationship.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
11 May 2026
-
Fans started to file out of the park in the sixth inning, when Houston led 10-0, with a collective expression of dejected gold.—
Joe Davidson,
Sacbee.com,
5 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mirthless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mirthless. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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