dismal

adjective

dis·mal ˈdiz-məl How to pronounce dismal (audio)

: showing or causing gloom (see gloom entry 2 sense 2) or depression

the dismal prison twilight

Charles Dickens

: lacking merit : particularly bad

a dismal performance

obsolete : disastrous, dreadful

dismally

ˈdiz-mə-lē How to pronounce dismal (audio)

adverb

dismalness noun

Did you know?

The Evil History of Dismal

In late antiquity, certain days each month, called “Egyptian days,” were regarded as inauspicious, probably as a relic of ancient Egyptian belief. By the Middle Ages, people took them to be anniversaries of the Biblical plagues in Egypt. There were 24 such days per year, and in Anglo-French they were called collectively dismal (from Latin dies mali, “evil days”), and this word was borrowed into Middle English. In time the “evil days” sense was forgotten and dismal was simply taken to mean “disastrous.” The noun dismal, meaning “swamp,” goes back to the 1700s when the marshy region in Virginia and North Carolina was named the Great Dismal Swamp.

Example Sentences

The show was a dismal failure. The team's record is dismal.

Recent Examples on the Web Market analysts have highlighted Netflix gaming’s dismal adoption rates, as reported on by a third-party app analytics company.

Shannon Liao, Washington Post, 10 Sep. 2022 The minerals required for those batteries also present an ethical problem, as many are mined in areas with dismal human-rights records.

Bjorn Lomborg, WSJ, 9 Sep. 2022 The Sox are 4-12 against the Rays this season, putting their record against American League East opponents at a dismal 18-39.

Julian Mcwilliams, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Sep. 2022 However, the dismal working conditions, 12-hour shifts, low pay, and paltry benefits are negatively impacting production at the Wharton plant by leading to serious difficulties in hiring and retaining workers.

Cesar Moreira, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2022 Removing a dismal August from the equation, domestic revenue for May through July was $2.9 billion, a downturn of just 16.6 percent from the same period in 2019 ($3.49 billion).

Pamela Mcclintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Sep. 2022 The dismal tide of synthetic opioids and amphetamines has penetrated Fort Bragg’s high-security gates, permeated through to the lowliest privates’ barracks, and caused at least a dozen overdose deaths in just the last year.

Seth Harp, Rolling Stone, 4 Sep. 2022 Bo Nix made some dismal throws that will stick with Ducks fans, notably the two first-half interceptions that killed any hope of the Ducks hanging with the Bulldogs.

Bill Oram, oregonlive, 4 Sep. 2022 Shares of Snap took a major tumble last month, after the company reported dismal sales growth and warned investors that the economy had worsened at a faster pace than expected.

Catherine Thorbecke, CNN, 31 Aug. 2022 See More

dismal

adjective

as in bleak

causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer a suitably dismal setting for a haunted house

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

bleak
depressing
dark
darkening
somber
depressive
desolate
lonely
murky
miserable
cold
gray
morbid
gloomy
wretched
solemn
lonesome
dreary
cheerless
dire
depressed
blue
glum
black
sad
lugubrious
drear
forlorn
disconsolate
morose
sullen
godforsaken
cloudy
comfortless
grey
oppressive
chill
funereal
sepulchral
melancholy
woeful
elegiac
saturnine
sombre
unhappy
sunless
tenebrous
dreich
plutonian
grim
woebegone
elegiacal
desperate
dispiriting
dull
hopeless
negative
dim
discouraging
dejected
dismaying
tenebrific
disheartening
distressful
low
mournful
lamentable
mirthless
pessimistic
upsetting
distressing
melancholic
down
drab
discomfiting
hangdog
sorrowful
despondent
inconsolable
droopy
menacing
Cimmerian
dour
colorless
plaintive
threatening
lowering
lowery
louring
loury

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

bright
cheerful
cheery
festive
joyous
sunshiny
friendly
comforting
joyful
optimistic
buoyant
jolly
merry
gay
cordial
blithe
mirthful
hopeful
gay
heartwarming
encouraging
cheering
blithesome
jocund
lighthearted
lightsome

as in depressing

causing unhappiness the dismal failure of our hopes for the championship

Synonyms & Similar Words

depressing
sad
pathetic
unfortunate
mournful
dreary
heartbreaking
melancholy
tearful
disturbing
saddening
drear
woeful
lamentable
teary
deplorable
distressful
sorry
heartrending
disquieting
distressing
affecting
dispiriting
discouraging
perturbing
grievous
moving
disheartening
discomforting
touching
poignant
discomposing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

cheery
happy
uplifting
glad
delightful
inspiring
pleasant
heartening
stimulating
satisfying
stirring
enjoyable
agreeable
cheering
welcome
pleasurable
exhilarating
pleasing
thrilling
heartwarming

as in horrible

extremely unsatisfactory the quarterback's dismal performance suggested that he had not fully recovered from his recent injury

Synonyms & Similar Words

horrible
terrible
awful
poor
wretched
atrocious
rotten
lousy
bad
execrable
defective
inadequate
sucky
miserable
flawed
insufficient
lacking
shameful
punk
substandard
mediocre
deficient
worthless
contemptible
inferior
useless
off
faulty
abominable
reprehensible
wanting
damnable
odious
valueless
vile
bum
low-grade
second-rate
fiendish

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

great
marvellous
marvelous
wonderful
excellent
exceptional
superior
prime
adequate
satisfactory
choice
bitchin'
acceptable
sufficient
premium
first-rate
first-class

Synonym Chooser

Some common synonyms of dismal are bleak, cheerless, desolate, dreary, and gloomy. While all these words mean "devoid of cheer or comfort," dismal indicates extreme and utterly depressing gloominess.

dismal weather

Although the words bleak and dismal have much in common, bleak suggests chill, dull, and barren characteristics that utterly dishearten.

the bleak years of the depression

In some situations, the words cheerless and dismal are roughly equivalent. However, cheerless stresses absence of anything cheering.

a drab and cheerless office

The words desolate and dismal 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

The synonyms dreary and dismal are sometimes interchangeable, but dreary, often interchangeable with dismal, emphasizes discouragement resulting from sustained dullness or futility.

a dreary job

While the synonyms gloomy and dismal are close in meaning, gloomy often suggests lack of hope or promise.

gloomy war news

单词	dismal
释义	dismal adjective dis·mal ˈdiz-məl 1 : showing or causing gloom (see gloom entry 2 sense 2) or depression the dismal prison twilight Charles Dickens 2 : lacking merit : particularly bad a dismal performance 3 obsolete : disastrous, dreadful dismally ˈdiz-mə-lē adverb dismalness noun Did you know? The Evil History of Dismal In late antiquity, certain days each month, called “Egyptian days,” were regarded as inauspicious, probably as a relic of ancient Egyptian belief. By the Middle Ages, people took them to be anniversaries of the Biblical plagues in Egypt. There were 24 such days per year, and in Anglo-French they were called collectively dismal (from Latin dies mali, “evil days”), and this word was borrowed into Middle English. In time the “evil days” sense was forgotten and dismal was simply taken to mean “disastrous.” The noun dismal, meaning “swamp,” goes back to the 1700s when the marshy region in Virginia and North Carolina was named the Great Dismal Swamp. Synonyms black bleak cheerless chill Cimmerian cloudy cold comfortless dark darkening depressing depressive desolate dire disconsolate drear dreary dreich [chiefly Scottish] elegiac elegiacal forlorn funereal gloomy 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 The show was a dismal failure. The team's record is dismal. Recent Examples on the Web Market analysts have highlighted Netflix gaming’s dismal adoption rates, as reported on by a third-party app analytics company. Shannon Liao, Washington Post, 10 Sep. 2022 The minerals required for those batteries also present an ethical problem, as many are mined in areas with dismal human-rights records. Bjorn Lomborg, WSJ, 9 Sep. 2022 The Sox are 4-12 against the Rays this season, putting their record against American League East opponents at a dismal 18-39. Julian Mcwilliams, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Sep. 2022 However, the dismal working conditions, 12-hour shifts, low pay, and paltry benefits are negatively impacting production at the Wharton plant by leading to serious difficulties in hiring and retaining workers. Cesar Moreira, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2022 Removing a dismal August from the equation, domestic revenue for May through July was $2.9 billion, a downturn of just 16.6 percent from the same period in 2019 ($3.49 billion). Pamela Mcclintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Sep. 2022 The dismal tide of synthetic opioids and amphetamines has penetrated Fort Bragg’s high-security gates, permeated through to the lowliest privates’ barracks, and caused at least a dozen overdose deaths in just the last year. Seth Harp, Rolling Stone, 4 Sep. 2022 Bo Nix made some dismal throws that will stick with Ducks fans, notably the two first-half interceptions that killed any hope of the Ducks hanging with the Bulldogs. Bill Oram, oregonlive, 4 Sep. 2022 Shares of Snap took a major tumble last month, after the company reported dismal sales growth and warned investors that the economy had worsened at a faster pace than expected. Catherine Thorbecke, CNN, 31 Aug. 2022 See More Word History Etymology Middle English, from dismal, noun, days marked as unlucky in medieval calendars, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin dies mali, literally, evil days First Known Use 15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3 Kids Definition dismal adjective dis·mal ˈdiz-məl : very gloomy dismal weather dismal adjective 1 as in bleak causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer a suitably dismal setting for a haunted house Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance bleak depressing dark darkening somber depressive desolate lonely murky miserable cold gray morbid gloomy wretched solemn lonesome dreary cheerless dire depressed blue glum black sad lugubrious drear forlorn disconsolate morose sullen godforsaken cloudy comfortless grey oppressive chill funereal sepulchral melancholy woeful elegiac saturnine sombre unhappy sunless tenebrous dreich plutonian grim woebegone elegiacal desperate dispiriting dull hopeless negative dim discouraging dejected dismaying tenebrific disheartening distressful low mournful lamentable mirthless pessimistic upsetting distressing melancholic down drab discomfiting hangdog sorrowful despondent inconsolable droopy menacing Cimmerian dour colorless plaintive threatening lowering lowery louring loury Antonyms & Near Antonyms bright cheerful cheery festive joyous sunshiny friendly comforting joyful optimistic buoyant jolly merry gay cordial blithe mirthful hopeful gay heartwarming encouraging cheering blithesome jocund lighthearted lightsome See More 2 as in depressing causing unhappiness the dismal failure of our hopes for the championship Synonyms & Similar Words depressing sad pathetic unfortunate mournful dreary heartbreaking melancholy tearful disturbing saddening drear woeful lamentable teary deplorable distressful sorry heartrending disquieting distressing affecting dispiriting discouraging perturbing grievous moving disheartening discomforting touching poignant discomposing Antonyms & Near Antonyms cheery happy uplifting glad delightful inspiring pleasant heartening stimulating satisfying stirring enjoyable agreeable cheering welcome pleasurable exhilarating pleasing thrilling heartwarming See More 3 as in horrible extremely unsatisfactory the quarterback's dismal performance suggested that he had not fully recovered from his recent injury Synonyms & Similar Words horrible terrible awful poor wretched atrocious rotten lousy bad execrable defective inadequate sucky miserable flawed insufficient lacking shameful punk substandard mediocre deficient worthless contemptible inferior useless off faulty abominable reprehensible wanting damnable odious valueless vile bum low-grade second-rate fiendish Antonyms & Near Antonyms great marvellous marvelous wonderful excellent exceptional superior prime adequate satisfactory choice bitchin' acceptable sufficient premium first-rate first-class See More Synonym Chooser Some common synonyms of dismal are bleak, cheerless, desolate, dreary, and gloomy. While all these words mean "devoid of cheer or comfort," dismal indicates extreme and utterly depressing gloominess. dismal weather Although the words bleak and dismal have much in common, bleak suggests chill, dull, and barren characteristics that utterly dishearten. the bleak years of the depression In some situations, the words cheerless and dismal are roughly equivalent. However, cheerless stresses absence of anything cheering. a drab and cheerless office The words desolate and dismal 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 The synonyms dreary and dismal are sometimes interchangeable, but dreary, often interchangeable with dismal, emphasizes discouragement resulting from sustained dullness or futility. a dreary job While the synonyms gloomy and dismal are close in meaning, gloomy often suggests lack of hope or promise. gloomy war news
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dismal

adjective

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Kids Definition

adjective

adjective

Synonym Chooser