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adjective, drear·i·er, drear·i·est.
1.
causing sadness or gloom.
2.
dull; boring.
3.
sorrowful; sad.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English drery, Old English drēorig gory, cruel, sad, equivalent to drēor gore + -ig -y1; akin to Old Norse dreyrigr bloody, German traurig sad
before 900; Middle English drery, Old English drēorig gory, cruel, sad, equivalent to drēor gore + -ig -y1; akin to Old Norse dreyrigr bloody, German traurig sad
Related forms
drear·i·ly, adverb
drear·i·ness, noun
drear·i·some, adjective
Synonyms
1. gloomy, dismal, drear, cheerless, depressing, comfortless. 2. tedious, monotonous, wearisome, tiresome.
1. gloomy, dismal, drear, cheerless, depressing, comfortless. 2. tedious, monotonous, wearisome, tiresome.
Antonyms
1. cheerful. 2. interesting.
1. cheerful. 2. interesting.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Dreary
is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
Example Sentences
- This man was doing nothing more than trying to brighten our dreary little worlds, after all.
- Thank you for helping me start my dreary work day with a hearty laugh.
- Most modern life is dreary, with an awful lot of routine drudgery.
Collins
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
dreary
O.E. dreorig "sorrowful," originally "cruel, bloody," from dreor "gore, blood," from (ge)dreosan (pp. droren) "fall, decline, fail," from W.Gmc. *dreuzas (cf. O.N. dreyrigr "gory, bloody," and more remotely, Ger. traurig "sad, sorrowful"). The word has lost its original sense of "dripping blood." Sense
EXPANDof "dismal, gloomy" first recorded 1667 in "Paradise Lost," but O.E. had a related verb drysmian "become gloomy."
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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