Bleak - Definitions from Dictionary.com

11 results for: Bleak

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

bleak1

–adjective, -er, -est.

1.	bare, desolate, and often windswept: a bleak plain.

2.	cold and piercing; raw: a bleak wind.

3.	without hope or encouragement; depressing; dreary: a bleak future.

[Origin: 1300–50; ME bleke pale, b. variants bleche (OE blǣc) and blake (OE blāc); both c. ON bleikr, G bleich; akin to bleach

]

—Related forms

bleakish, adjective

bleakly, adverb

bleakness, noun

—Synonyms 3. See austere.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Bleak

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bleak2

Audio Help [bleek] Pronunciation Key

–noun

a European freshwater fish, Alburnus alburnus, having scales with a silvery pigment that is used in the production of artificial pearls.

[Origin: 1400–50; late ME bleke, n. use of bleke pale; see bleak¹

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

bleak¹ Audio Help (blēk) Pronunciation Key
adj. bleak·er, bleak·est

1. Gloomy and somber: "Life in the Aran Islands has always been bleak and difficult" (John Millington Synge).
2. Providing no encouragement; depressing: a bleak prospect.
Cold and cutting; raw: bleak winds of the North Atlantic.
Exposed to the elements; unsheltered and barren: the bleak, treeless regions of the high Andes.

[Middle English bleik, pale, from Old Norse bleikr, white; see bhel-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

bleak'ly adv., bleak'ness n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

bleak² Audio Help (blēk) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. bleak or bleaks
A small European freshwater fish of the genus Alburnus that is related to the carp and has silvery scales used in the manufacture of artificial pearls.

[Middle English bleke, probably alteration (influenced by bleke, pale) of *blay, from Old English blǣge.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
bleak

c.1300, from O.N. bleikr "pale" (see bleach). Sense of "cheerless" is c.1719 figurative extension. The same Gmc. root produced the O.E. blac "pale," but this died out, probably from confusion with blæc "black;" but bleikr persisted, with a sense of "bare" as well as "pale."

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

bleak
adjective
1.	offering little or no hope; "the future looked black"; "prospects were bleak"; "Life in the Aran Islands has always been bleak and difficult"- J.M.Synge; "took a dim view of things" [syn: black]
2.	providing no shelter or sustenance; "bare rocky hills"; "barren lands"; "the bleak treeless regions of the high Andes"; "the desolate surface of the moon"; "a stark landscape" [syn: bare]
3.	unpleasantly cold and damp; "bleak winds of the North Atlantic"

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
bleak1 [bliːk] adjective

cold and unsheltered
Example: a bleak landscape

Arabic:	قارسٌ، موحِشٌ
Chinese (Simplified):	荒凉的
Chinese (Traditional):	荒涼的
Czech:	pustý, holý, ponurý
Danish:	kold og forblæst; dyster; trist
Dutch:	guur, kaal
Estonian:	kõle
Finnish:	kolkko
French:	désolé
German:	öde
Greek:	κρύος, απροστάτευτος, ανεμοδαρμένος
Hungarian:	sivár
Icelandic:	hrjóstrugur
Indonesian:	gersang, suram
Italian:	desolato

Japanese:	荒涼とした
Korean:	황량한
Latvian:	neaizsargāts; kails; nemīlīgs
Lithuanian:	plikas, niūrus
Norwegian:	kald og forblåst
Polish:	nagi, posępny
Portuguese (Brazil):	ermo
Portuguese (Portugal):	sombrio
Romanian:	pustiu
Russian:	унылый
Slovak:	pustý, holý
Slovenian:	pust
Spanish:	inhóspito, desolado
Swedish:	kal, öppen, blåsig
Turkish:	soğuk ve korunmasız, çıplak

bleak2 [bliːk] adjective

not hopeful
Example: a bleak outlook for the future

Arabic:	كَئيبٌ
Chinese (Simplified):	惨淡的
Chinese (Traditional):	慘淡的，無希望的
Czech:	pochmurný, deprimující
Danish:	trist
Dutch:	somber
Estonian:	sünge
Finnish:	synkkä
French:	triste
German:	freudlos
Greek:	ζοφερός, δυσοίωνος
Hungarian:	sivár
Icelandic:	dapurlegur
Indonesian:	tanpa harapan
Italian:	tetro

Japanese:	わびしい
Korean:	어두운
Latvian:	drūms
Lithuanian:	niūrus
Norwegian:	stusselig, trist
Polish:	beznadziejny, niewesoły
Portuguese (Brazil):	desolado
Portuguese (Portugal):	sombrio
Romanian:	sumbru
Russian:	мрачный
Slovak:	pochmúrny
Slovenian:	žalosten
Spanish:	desesperanzador, nada prometedor
Swedish:	dyster
Turkish:	ümit kırıcı, karanlık