bleaker; bleakest
1
: exposed and barren and often windswept
a bleak landscape
bleak soils
3
a
: lacking in warmth, life, or kindliness : grim
a bleak prison documentary
b
: not hopeful or encouraging : depressing
a bleak prognosis
a bleak outlook
the future looks bleak
c
: severely simple or austere
a bleak hotel room
bleakly
adverb
bleakness
noun
Synonyms
- black
- cheerless
- chill
- Cimmerian
- cloudy
- cold
- comfortless
- dark
- darkening
- depressing
- depressive
- desolate
- dire
- disconsolate
- dismal
- 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
Examples of bleak in a Sentence
a bleak outlook for the team for the rest of the season
it was a dark and bleak wintry day
Recent Examples on the Web
Some recipients responded to the texts with anger and others with a sense of humor, but many agree that the messages seem to be a bleak foreshadowing.
—
Char Adams, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2024
The stock's fate hinges on the 2024 presidential election results, with potential appreciation if Trump wins, but a bleak outlook if Kamala Harris prevails.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
Though the complex love story spans decades, each shocking plot turn and fleeting moment, guided by the series’ head writer, Francisco Javier Royo Fernández, enables the audience to remain committed to seeing this tale through until the end, even when things look bleak.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 3 Nov. 2024
Although things look bleak, Aikman still believes the Cowboys can turn things around as soon as this week against the red-hot 5-3 Falcons.
—Dj Siddiqi, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bleak 
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Char Adams, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2024
The stock's fate hinges on the 2024 presidential election results, with potential appreciation if Trump wins, but a bleak outlook if Kamala Harris prevails.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
Though the complex love story spans decades, each shocking plot turn and fleeting moment, guided by the series’ head writer, Francisco Javier Royo Fernández, enables the audience to remain committed to seeing this tale through until the end, even when things look bleak.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 3 Nov. 2024
Although things look bleak, Aikman still believes the Cowboys can turn things around as soon as this week against the red-hot 5-3 Falcons.
—Dj Siddiqi, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bleak
Articles Related to bleak
Dictionary Entries Near bleak
Cite this Entry
“Bleak.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bleak. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bleak
adjective1
: open to wind or weather
a bleak coast
2
: cold entry 1 sense 1, raw
a bleak November evening
4
: very plain
bleakly
adverb
bleakness
noun
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