1 cheerless | Definition of cheerless
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cheerless

adjective
cheer·​less | \ ˈchir-lÉ™s How to pronounce cheerless (audio) \

Definition of cheerless

: lacking qualities that cheer : bleak, joyless a cheerless room
Other Words from cheerless Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about cheerless

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Other Words from cheerless

cheerlessly adverb
cheerlessness noun

Choose the Right Synonym for cheerless

dismal, dreary, bleak, gloomy, cheerless, desolate mean devoid of cheer or comfort. dismal indicates extreme and utterly depressing gloominess. dismal weather dreary, often interchangeable with dismal, emphasizes discouragement resulting from sustained dullness or futility. a dreary job bleak suggests chill, dull, and barren characteristics that utterly dishearten. the bleak years of the depression gloomy often suggests lack of hope or promise. gloomy war news cheerless stresses absence of anything cheering. a drab and cheerless office desolate adds an element of utter remoteness or lack of human contact to any already disheartening aspect. a desolate outpost

Examples of cheerless in a Sentence

The room was surprisingly bare and cheerless. a dank and cheerless castle that was once the site of unspeakable horrors

Recent Examples on the Web

 Nothing like signifyin’ in the Henry Louis Gates Jr. sense, with its necessarily intelligent playfulness, but something essentially post-literate and cheerless. — Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, "A Herd Has No Mind," 11 July 2019 But a future predicated on product development alone, with little to offer the human heart, is a cheerless future indeed. — Michael J. Lewis, WSJ, "‘The Road Ahead: Reimagining Mobility’ Review: Future Imperfect," 10 Jan. 2019 Just ahead awaits a peculiar Southern California landscape of palm trees and barbed wire, and then a cheerless, pitiless site: Terminal Island Federal Correctional Institution. — James Andrew Miller, The Hollywood Reporter, "The Anthony Pellicano Prison Interview: Hollywood's Notorious Fixer on His Victims, Enablers and a Coming Release," 14 Feb. 2018 The visit draws a strangely dutiful, cheerless local crowd. — Holland Cotter, New York Times, "Chinese Landscapes at the Met: If Those Mountains Could Talk," 13 Sep. 2017 Long before any news outlet formally declared Ms. Handel’s victory, CNN and MSNBC regulars disclosed the outcome with their funereal tones and cheerless visages. — James Freeman, WSJ, "Irresistible," 21 June 2017 At the end of the cheerless night, Byron secrets away a slice of lemon pie, setting the stage for Kara’s ultimate transgression: a midnight snack. — Dan Piepenbring, The New Yorker, "Watch Jonathan Demme’s Pitch-Black Eighties Sitcom Episode," 1 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cheerless.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of cheerless

1575, in the meaning defined above

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More Definitions for cheerless

cheerless

adjective
How to pronounce cheerless (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of cheerless

: not causing happiness or warm feelings : bleak or gloomy

See the full definition for cheerless in the English Language Learners Dictionary

cheerless

adjective
cheer·​less | \ ˈchir-lÉ™s How to pronounce cheerless (audio) \

Kids Definition of cheerless

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