as in bleak
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
a dank and cheerless castle that was once the site of unspeakable horrors
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cheerless
For three days, things were cheerless for Courtney Williams.
—
Mike Cook, Twin Cities, 28 May 2025
Gomez gestured across the street toward 100 Centre Street—the criminal courthouse, a cheerless Art Deco building the color of cinder blocks.
—Sarah Lustbader, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
Election polls may seem cheerless, inscrutable, and wrapped in data and murky terminology.
—W. Joseph Campbell, Fortune, 29 Oct. 2024
Wedged between the cheerless skyscrapers of Third Avenue and an uncharming stretch of Second, just blocks north of the bro bars of Murray Hill, is a row of nine townhouses.
—Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 2 Aug. 2024
Their lives had been expended in cheerless labor, there wills broken, their intelligences numbed.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 5 July 2024
That turned an entertaining exhibition into an awkward and cheerless faux-competitive affair.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 19 July 2022
For all his gloom, Mann was not entirely cheerless.
—Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2021
Mike Cook, Twin Cities, 28 May 2025
Gomez gestured across the street toward 100 Centre Street—the criminal courthouse, a cheerless Art Deco building the color of cinder blocks.
—Sarah Lustbader, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
Election polls may seem cheerless, inscrutable, and wrapped in data and murky terminology.
—W. Joseph Campbell, Fortune, 29 Oct. 2024
Wedged between the cheerless skyscrapers of Third Avenue and an uncharming stretch of Second, just blocks north of the bro bars of Murray Hill, is a row of nine townhouses.
—Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 2 Aug. 2024
Their lives had been expended in cheerless labor, there wills broken, their intelligences numbed.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 5 July 2024
That turned an entertaining exhibition into an awkward and cheerless faux-competitive affair.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 19 July 2022
For all his gloom, Mann was not entirely cheerless.
—Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cheerless
Adjective
-
These are bleak times, and as fans continue to mourn the club’s decline, West Ham’s hierarchy have shifted their focus to the January transfer window.—
Roshane Thomas,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
-
As with many of Burton's best films, the real magic is the nuggets of human profundity hidden within the bleak imagery and whimsical comedy.—
Chris Snellgrove,
Entertainment Weekly,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Leave it to Shane Black to turn the lonely act of screenwriting into a contact sport.—
Benjamin Svetkey,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Oct. 2025
-
One of the more criminally underrated films of the genre, this Frankenstein-esque tale stars Angela Bettis as the title woman, a lonely sort whose sole friend is a doll made by her mom.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Nuno’s sombre facial expression did little to mask his dread over the club’s plight.—
Roshane Thomas,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Sixty-two years after that somber swearing-in, the central figures who were on board Air Force One have passed away, among them Johnson, his wife, Lady Bird, Jackie Kennedy and Hughes.—
Susan Page,
USA Today,
25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
For a darker experience in the City of Light, venture beneath Paris and explore its hundreds of miles of catacombs.—
Sophie Friedman,
AFAR Media,
22 Oct. 2025
-
Patrick wore a classic dark grey suit with coordinating pants and jacket.—
Skyler Caruso,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
And that’s what's so depressing.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
20 Oct. 2025
-
His college career has come to an end in a very depressing way.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Clowns, aliens and the mysteries of Denver Airport Nevada’s Extraterrestrial Highway – yes, it’s officially called that – runs through one of the most remote and desolate stretches of the United States.—
Maureen O'Hare,
CNN Money,
25 Oct. 2025
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To find the killer, Sherlock Holmes and Watson will have to brave desolate moors before a family curse dooms the newest heirs.—
Meredith G. White,
AZCentral.com,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
There are four basic types of the disorder, which are characterized by periods of elation and hyperactivity known as manic episodes, which are then followed by depressive stages where the patient experiences feelings of sadness and depression.—
Vanessa Etienne,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
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What To Know Roughly 37 percent of college students reported moderate or severe depressive symptoms, while another 33 percent had moderate or severe anxiety symptoms, the survey found.—
Suzanne Blake,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
About 90 minutes earlier in the game, Thornton sprinted down the center of the field on a post route, basically all by his lonesome.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
25 Sep. 2025
-
All in all, Jones should have the power to uplift this shaky defense on his lonesome.—
Mat Issa,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cheerless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cheerless. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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