bleak
Use Bleak in a sentence
adjective, bleak·er, bleak·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.
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Bleak
is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
noun
a European freshwater fish, Alburnus alburnus, having scales with a silvery pigment that is used in the production of artificial pearls.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To bleak
Collins
World English Dictionary
bleak1 (bliːk) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | exposed and barren; desolate |
| 2. | cold and raw |
| 3. | offering little hope or excitement; dismal: a bleak future |
| [Old English blāc bright, pale; related to Old Norse bleikr white, Old High German bleih pale] | |
| 'bleakly1 | |
| —adv | |
| 'bleakness1 | |
| —n | |
| bleak2 (bliːk) | |
| —n | |
| any slender silvery European cyprinid fish of the genus Alburnus, esp A. lucidus, occurring in slow-flowing rivers | |
| [C15: probably from Old Norse bleikja white colour; related to Old High German bleiche | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
bleak
c.1300, from O.N. bleikr "pale," from P.Gmc. *blaika- "shining, white," from PIE base *bhel- (1) "to shine, flash, burn" (see bleach). Sense of "cheerless" is c.1719 figurative extension. The same Germanic root produced 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." Related: Bleakness (c.1600).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia
bleak
(Alburnus alburnus), small, slender fish of the carp family, Cyprinidae, found in rivers and lakes of England and Europe. A silvery-green fish, it grows to a maximum length of about 20 centimetres (8 inches). It lives in schools, usually near the surface, and eats aquatic invertebrates. The bleak is edible but bony. Its scales are used in eastern Europe for the manufacture of artificial pearls.
Learn more about bleak with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences
Lilacs are a fragrant cure for the winter chills and short, bleak days.
The bleak findings contrast with the improving outlook for rhinos elsewhere on the continent.
According to these calculations, the prospects for blood-based early detection looked bleak.
But the public food, all too often a plate full of grease followed by a plate full of custard, could definitely be bleak.
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