dismal

(dĭz'məl)
adj.

1. Causing gloom or depression; dreary: dismal weather; took a dismal view of the economy.
2. Characterized by ineptitude, dullness, or a lack of merit: a dismal book; a dismal performance on the cello.
3. Obsolete. Dreadful; disastrous.

n.
Chiefly South Atlantic U.S. See pocosin. See Regional Note at pocosin.

[Middle English, unlucky days, unlucky, from Anglo-Norman, unlucky days, from Medieval Latin diēs malī : Latin diēs, pl. of diēs, day + Latin malī, pl. of malus, evil.]

dismally dis'mal·ly adv.
dismalness dis'mal·ness n.

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adjective

1. Tending to cause sadness or low spirits: blue, cheerless, depressing, dispiriting, gloomy, joyless, melancholy, sad. See happy/unhappy.
2. Dark and depressing: black, bleak, blue, cheerless, dark, desolate, dreary, gloomy, glum, joyless, somber, tenebrific. See happy/unhappy, light/darkness.
3. Marked by little hopefulness: dark, gloomy, pessimistic. See happy/unhappy, hope/despair.

adj

Definition: bleak, dreary, gloomy
Antonyms: bright, cheerful, glad, happy, hopeful, light, pleasant

IN BRIEF: Gloomy.

It was such a dismal day that the children played indoors.

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For a list of words related to dismal, see:

• Sad, Serious, Pessimistic, or Discontented
• Ordinary, Dull, Plain, or Banal

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See words rhyming with "dismal."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Dismal.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - sørgelig, trist, skummel, talentløs
n. - trist person, triste tider

Nederlands (Dutch)
mistroostig, treurig, moerasland

Français (French)
adj. - lugubre, sombre, morne
n. - marais/marécage (dans les hautes terres côtières)

Deutsch (German)
adj. - trübe, bedrückend
n. - Trübsinn

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - καταθλιπτικός, θλιβερός, ζοφερός, μελαγχολικός

Italiano (Italian)
fosco, tetro

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - deprimente, sombrio

Русский (Russian)
гнетущий

Español (Spanish)
adj. - sombrío, tenebroso
n. - (EE.UU.) terreno cenagoso a lo largo de la costa

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - dyster, olycklig, vard. usel

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
阴沉的, 暗的, 凄凉的, 低落的情绪, 沼泽

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 陰沈的, 暗的, 淒涼的
n. - 低落的情緒, 沼澤

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 황량한, 으시시한, (기분 등이) 의기소침한, 비참한
n. - 으시시한 것, 침울, 상복

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 陰惨な, 憂鬱な, 陰気な
n. - 憂鬱, 陰鬱なもの

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) قابض للصدر, مغم, كئيب, أقلم جدارة من المتوقع‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮מדכא, קודר, עצוב‬
n. - ‮ביצה באזור חוף גבוה‬

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