BLEAK: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for BLEAK?

Need another word that means the same as “bleak”? Find 44 synonyms and 30 related words for “bleak” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Bleak” are: bare, barren, desolate, stark, black, dim, cutting, raw, exposed, arid, denuded, lunar, open, empty, windswept, cold, keen, harsh, wintry, unpromising, unfavourable, unpropitious, inauspicious, adverse, disadvantageous, uninviting, discouraging, disheartening, depressing, cheerless, joyless, gloomy, sombre, dreary, dismal, wretched, miserable, dark, grim, drab, portentous, foreboding, hopeless, ominous

Bleak as an Adjective

Definitions of "Bleak" as an adjective

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “bleak” as an adjective can have the following definitions:

• (of an area of land) lacking vegetation and exposed to the elements.
• (of a situation) not hopeful or encouraging; unlikely to have a favourable outcome.
• Offering little or no hope.
• Offering little or no hope- J.M.Synge.
• (of the weather) cold and miserable.
• (of a building or room) charmless and inhospitable; dreary.
• Unpleasantly cold and damp.
• Providing no shelter or sustenance.
• (of a person's expression) cold and forbidding.

Synonyms of "Bleak" as an adjective (44 Words)

adverse	In an opposing direction. Adverse weather conditions.
arid	(of land or a climate) having little or no rain; too dry or barren to support vegetation. The arid plains north of Cape Town.
bare	Just barely adequate or within a lower limit. An ordeal that would lay bare a troubled family background.
barren	(of a tree or plant) not producing fruit or seed. The barren fig tree.
black	Of a ski run of the highest level of difficulty as indicated by black markers positioned along it. A black moonless night.
cheerless	Causing sad feelings of gloom and inadequacy. Something cheerless about the room.
cold	Having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e g ice or refrigeration. A cold and unaffectionate person.
cutting	Capable of cutting something. The cutting blades of the hedge trimmer.
dark	Having a dark hue. A dark gloomy day.
denuded	Without the natural or usual covering.
depressing	Causing or resulting in a feeling of miserable dejection. That thought is too depressing for words.
desolate	(of a place) uninhabited and giving an impression of bleak emptiness. A desolate Pennine moor.
dim	Made dim or less bright. The dimmed houselights brought a hush of anticipation.
disadvantageous	Involving or creating circumstances detrimental to success or effectiveness. The new employment scheme is disadvantageous to women.
discouraging	Expressing disapproval in order to dissuade. Where never is heard a discouraging word.
disheartening	Destructive of morale and self-reliance. Her death is particularly disheartening because it was preventable.
dismal	Causing a mood of gloom or depression. The first dismal dispiriting days of November.
drab	Lacking in liveliness or charm or surprise. Her drab personality.
dreary	Lacking in liveliness or charm or surprise. The dreary round of working eating and trying to sleep.
empty	Devoid of significance or force. Their promises were empty words.
exposed	Not sheltered or protected from the weather. Some areas of exposed coastline could see gusts of wind of more than 80 mph.
foreboding	Implying that something bad is going to happen. When the Doctor spoke his voice was dark and foreboding.
gloomy	Dark or poorly lit, especially so as to appear depressing or frightening. A gloomy silence.
grim	Very serious or gloomy. A grim goalless draw in appalling weather.
harsh	Unpleasantly rough or jarring to the senses. The harsh facts of court delays.
hopeless	Without hope because there seems to be no possibility of comfort or success. The situation is hopeless.
inauspicious	Unlucky. Following this inauspicious start the British outnumbered withdrew.
joyless	Not giving or feeling any pleasure or satisfaction; grim or dismal. A joyless occasion.
keen	Interested in or attracted by (someone or something. Keen winds.
lunar	Of, determined by, or resembling the moon. A lunar eclipse.
miserable	(of a person) wretchedly unhappy or uncomfortable. Almost depleted his miserable store of dried beans.
ominous	Giving the worrying impression that something bad is going to happen; threateningly inauspicious. There were ominous dark clouds gathering overhead.
open	Open and observable not secret or hidden. The plans allow increasing numbers of new houses in open countryside.
portentous	Puffed up with vanity. This portentous year in Canadian history.
raw	(of language) coarse or crude, typically in relation to sexual matters. You may kill someone someday with your raw power.
sombre	Lacking brightness or color; dull. The night skies were sombre and starless.
stark	Providing no shelter or sustenance. Stark poverty.
unfavourable	Involving or creating circumstances detrimental to success or effectiveness. Single mothers are often the target of unfavourable press attention.
uninviting	(especially of a place or prospect) not attractive. The house was dark and uninviting.
unpromising	Not giving hope of future success or good results. The boy s natural intellect had survived in unpromising circumstances.
unpropitious	(of a circumstance) not giving or indicating a good chance of success; unfavourable. His reports were submitted at a financially unpropitious time.
windswept	Untidy in appearance after being exposed to the wind. Windswept headlands.
wintry	Characteristic of or occurring in winter. Brown wintry grasses.
wretched	Of very poor quality or condition. She disliked the wretched man intensely.

Usage Examples of "Bleak" as an adjective

• The future looks bleak.
• He looked round the bleak little room in despair.
• A bleak and barren moor.
• Bleak winds of the North Atlantic.
• He paints a bleak picture of a company that has lost its way.
• A bleak midwinter's day.
• His mouth was set and his eyes were bleak.
• Life in the Aran Islands has always been bleak and difficult.
• Prospects were bleak.
• The bleak treeless regions of the high Andes.

Associations of "Bleak" (30 Words)

barren	A barren tract or tracts of land. The room was barren of furniture.
crestfallen	Sad and disappointed. He came back empty handed and crestfallen.
dejected	Affected or marked by low spirits. He stood in the street looking dejected.
depressed	Lower than previously. The market is depressed.
despair	A state in which all hope is lost or absent. In despair I hit the bottle.
despairing	Showing the loss of all hope. He gave a despairing little shrug.
desperate	Desperately determined. Felt a desperate urge to confess.
despondent	Without or almost without hope. Despondent about his failure.
dingy	Discolored by impurities; not bright and clear is often used in combination. A dingy room.
disappointed	Disappointingly unsuccessful. Thousands of disappointed customers were kept waiting.
disconsolate	Very unhappy and unable to be comforted. She left Fritz looking disconsolate.
discouraged	Lacking in resolution. Felt discouraged by the magnitude of the problem.
dismal	Causing dejection. The dismal weather made the late afternoon seem like evening.
dispirited	Having lost enthusiasm and hope; disheartened. A dispirited and divided Party.
drab	Clothes especially trousers made of drab. A young man dressed in drabs.
dreary	Lacking in liveliness or charm or surprise. A series of dreary dinner parties.
forbidden	Not allowed; banned. A list of forbidden books.
gloomy	Causing dejection. A dark gloomy day.
hangdog	Showing a sense of guilt- Eric Linklater. The hangdog and shamefaced air of the retreating enemy.
heartsick	Full of sorrow. Weary and heartsick she forced herself to search throughout the remains of the village.
helpless	Unable to defend oneself or to act without help. Lying ill and helpless.
hopeless	Beyond hope of management or reform. She handed me a hopeless jumble of papers.
inhospitable	(of an environment) harsh and difficult to live in. They are extremely inhospitable these days.
melancholy	Having a feeling of melancholy sad and pensive. She felt a little melancholy.
pessimistic	Expecting the worst possible outcome. He was pessimistic about the prospects.
prohibit	(of a fact or situation) make (something) impossible; prevent. All ivory trafficking between nations is prohibited.
relentlessly	In an unceasingly intense or harsh way. Joseph worked relentlessly.
sad	Of things that make you feel sad Christina Rossetti. He told her the sad story of his life.
stark	Severe or bare in appearance or outline. His position is in stark contrast to that of Curran.
unmitigated	Not diminished or moderated in intensity or severity; sometimes used as an intensifier. The tour had been an unmitigated disaster.