gloomy
adjective
ˈglü-mē 
gloomier; gloomiest
1
a
: partially or totally dark
especially : dismally and depressingly dark
gloomy weather
b
: having a frowning or scowling appearance : forbidding
a gloomy countenance
c
: low in spirits : melancholy
2
a
: causing gloom : depressing
a gloomy story
a gloomy landscape
b
: lacking in promise or hopefulness : pessimistic
gloomy prophecies
a gloomy future
gloomily
ˈglü-mə-lē
adverb gloominess
ˈglü-mē-nəs
noun 
Synonyms
- black
- bleak
- cheerless
- chill
- Cimmerian
- cloudy
- cold
- comfortless
- dark
- darkening
- depressing
- depressive
- desolate
- dire
- disconsolate
- dismal
- drear
- dreary
- dreich [chiefly Scottish]
- elegiac
- elegiacal
- forlorn
- funereal
- glum
- godforsaken
- gray
- grey
- lonely
- lonesome
- lugubrious
- miserable
- morbid
- morose
- murky
- plutonian
- saturnine
- sepulchral
- solemn
- somber
- sombre
- sullen
- sunless
- tenebrific
- tenebrous
- wretched
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
We've had a week of gloomy weather. The news continues to be gloomy. She doesn't agree with their gloomy economic forecasts. His book paints a gloomy picture of the prospects for peace. I've never seen you looking so gloomy.
Recent Examples on the Web About the opera world today, Horne is feeling gloomy, as are many of us. 
Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 1 Aug. 2022 Just over half of Democrats said the state is headed in the wrong direction, and 93% of Republicans agreed with that gloomy assessment. Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2022 The economic rating of Biden’s performance correlates with a gloomy assessment of the economy itself. Dan Balz, Scott Clement And Emily Guskin, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Nov. 2021 An hourslong Sunday afternoon downpour and gloomy Labor Day weather couldn't dampen the spirit of a lively 43rd annual Detroit Jazz Festival, which returned in-person at Hart Plaza and Campus Martius while being streamed online, free to all. Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press, 6 Sep. 2022 The show's creator Alfred Gough explained in an interview with Vanity Fair that Wednesday is very much still gloomy, but more independent in the upcoming series. Chaise Sanders, Country Living, 5 Sep. 2022 Globally, assorted gods have patrolled assorted underworlds for millennia, with death as their gloomy guard duty. Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2022 Some Republicans in Washington have adopted a gloomy outlook to Senate fundraising. Daniel Strauss, The New Republic, 31 Aug. 2022 And while caves conjure up images of dark and gloomy spaces, this one is anything but. Dobrina Zhekova, Travel + Leisure, 14 May 2022 See More
Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 1 Aug. 2022 Just over half of Democrats said the state is headed in the wrong direction, and 93% of Republicans agreed with that gloomy assessment. Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2022 The economic rating of Biden’s performance correlates with a gloomy assessment of the economy itself. Dan Balz, Scott Clement And Emily Guskin, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Nov. 2021 An hourslong Sunday afternoon downpour and gloomy Labor Day weather couldn't dampen the spirit of a lively 43rd annual Detroit Jazz Festival, which returned in-person at Hart Plaza and Campus Martius while being streamed online, free to all. Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press, 6 Sep. 2022 The show's creator Alfred Gough explained in an interview with Vanity Fair that Wednesday is very much still gloomy, but more independent in the upcoming series. Chaise Sanders, Country Living, 5 Sep. 2022 Globally, assorted gods have patrolled assorted underworlds for millennia, with death as their gloomy guard duty. Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2022 Some Republicans in Washington have adopted a gloomy outlook to Senate fundraising. Daniel Strauss, The New Republic, 31 Aug. 2022 And while caves conjure up images of dark and gloomy spaces, this one is anything but. Dobrina Zhekova, Travel + Leisure, 14 May 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
see gloom entry 1
First Known Use
1588, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Phrases Containing gloomy
Kids Definition
gloomy
adjective
ˈglü-mē
gloomier; gloomiest
1
: partly or completely dark
2
: sad sense 1, blue
3
: causing feelings of sadness
a gloomy story
4
: not hopeful or promising
The future looks gloomy.
gloomy
adjective
1
as in bleak
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer the cold rain made for a gloomy day Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- bleak
- somber
- dark
- depressive
- depressing
- darkening
- lonely
- desolate
- murky
- morbid
- solemn
- cold
- gray
- lonesome
- miserable
- dreary
- cheerless
- glum
- dismal
- depressed
- morose
- lugubrious
- blue
- drear
- sad
- sullen
- wretched
- black
- cloudy
- forlorn
- chill
- dire
- melancholy
- grey
- funereal
- sombre
- disconsolate
- sepulchral
- oppressive
- comfortless
- saturnine
- elegiac
- godforsaken
- sunless
- tenebrous
- dreich
- unhappy
- grim
- plutonian
- dull
- melancholic
- dejected
- dim
- mournful
- hopeless
- elegiacal
- pessimistic
- woebegone
- negative
- desperate
- mirthless
- distressful
- dispiriting
- discouraging
- woeful
- despondent
- sorrowful
- tenebrific
- menacing
- Cimmerian
- drab
- dismaying
- dour
- upsetting
- droopy
- disheartening
- distressing
- discomfiting
- hangdog
- down
- inconsolable
- low
- lamentable
- plaintive
- colorless
- threatening
- louring
- lowery
- lowering
- loury
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- cheerful
- bright
- cheery
- sunshiny
- festive
- friendly
- joyous
- joyful
- comforting
- jolly
- merry
- optimistic
- buoyant
- gay
- cordial
- mirthful
- blithe
- hopeful
- gay
- blithesome
- heartwarming
- encouraging
- cheering
- jocund
- lighthearted
- lightsome
2
as in sad
feeling unhappiness has been gloomy ever since the breakup with his girlfriend Synonyms & Similar Words
- sad
- depressed
- unhappy
- miserable
- heartbroken
- melancholy
- bad
- glum
- sorrowful
- sorry
- mournful
- worried
- doleful
- upset
- melancholic
- hopeless
- uneasy
- dejected
- disappointed
- joyless
- downcast
- troubled
- woebegone
- forlorn
- depressing
- downhearted
- disconsolate
- wretched
- crestfallen
- blue
- woeful
- despondent
- down
- heartsick
- droopy
- hangdog
- saddened
- distressed
- inconsolable
- suicidal
- heavyhearted
- low-spirited
- brokenhearted
- bleak
- cast down
- discouraged
- low
- heartsore
- somber
- despairing
- lugubrious
- dispirited
- tearful
- dreary
- desolate
- cheerless
- unquiet
- dark
- aggrieved
- morbid
- dismal
- morose
- grieving
- sunk
- dolorous
- down in the mouth
- disheartened
- gray
- sullen
- drear
- regretful
- weeping
- anguished
- darkening
- lachrymose
- plaintive
- sombre
- comfortless
- murky
- rueful
- saturnine
- agonized
- funereal
- elegiac
- wailing
- black
- grey
- elegiacal
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- cheerful
- sunny
- cheery
- joyous
- joyful
- upbeat
- buoyant
- happy
- jubilant
- blissful
- gleeful
- exuberant
- jovial
- merry
- glad
- jolly
- optimistic
- euphoric
- buoyed
- exultant
- ecstatic
- mirthful
- rapturous
- rosy
- chipper
- delighted
- jocular
- rhapsodic
- blithe
- blithesome
- hopeful
- enraptured
- rhapsodical
- exhilarated
- elated
- jocose
- jocund
- excited
- sanguine
- overjoyed
- lightsome
- gladsome
- entranced
- gladdened
- energetic
- spirited
- perky
- lively
- vivacious
- thrilled
- vital
- smiling
- frisky
- peppy
- springy
- jaunty
- animated
- sprightly
- laughing
- satisfied
- content
- bouncing
- lighthearted
- encouraged
- pleased
- carefree
- careless
- unconcerned
- zippy
- gratified
- easygoing
- grinning
- insouciant
- heartened
- cavalier
- beaming
- boon
- sprightful
- happy-go-lucky
- devil-may-care
3
as in darkened
being without light or without much light that house would be less gloomy if some of the overgrown trees and shrubs were cleared away Synonyms & Similar Words
- darkened
- dark
- murky
- somber
- dim
- sombre
- black
- lightless
- darkish
- dusky
- dimmed
- obscured
- stygian
- darkling
- obscure
- dusk
- darksome
- rayless
- unlit
- tenebrous
- caliginous
- pitchy
- pitch-dark
- misty
- twilit
- pitch-black
- crepuscular
- gray
- cloudy
- lackluster
- shadowy
- dull
- foggy
- tenebrific
- starless
- clouded
- shady
- moonless
- sunless
- pale
- dulled
- smoggy
- grey
- leaden
- shadowlike
- beclouded
- fuliginous
- soupy
- befogged
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- bright
- light
- brilliant
- luminous
- lighted
- shining
- illuminated
- brightened
- lightsome
- sparkling
- lit
- lucid
- radiant
- illumined
- resplendent
- glaring
- lucent
- glowing
- incandescent
- effulgent
- beamy
- shiny
- lambent
- glossy
- beaming
- alight
- lustrous
- sunlit
- aglitter
- moony
- moonlit
- agleam
- spotlit
- highlighted
- relucent
- ultrabright
- ablaze
- starlit
- spotlighted
- floodlit
- floodlighted
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of gloomy are bleak, cheerless, desolate, dismal, and dreary. While all these words mean "devoid of cheer or comfort," gloomy often suggests lack of hope or promise.
gloomy war news
While in some cases nearly identical to gloomy, bleak suggests chill, dull, and barren characteristics that utterly dishearten.
the bleak years of the depression
In some situations, the words cheerless and gloomy are roughly equivalent. However, cheerless stresses absence of anything cheering.
a drab and cheerless office
The meanings of desolate and gloomy largely overlap; however, desolate adds an element of utter remoteness or lack of human contact to any already disheartening aspect.
a desolate outpost
While the synonyms dismal and gloomy are close in meaning, dismal indicates extreme and utterly depressing gloominess.
dismal weather
The words dreary and gloomy can be used in similar contexts, but dreary, often interchangeable with dismal, emphasizes discouragement resulting from sustained dullness or futility.
a dreary job