1
as in bleak
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
vowed that he would never take a desk job working in a dreary office
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in depressing
causing unhappiness
decided to see a professional counselor in order to save their dreary marriage
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in boring
causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest
another dreary social event to suffer through
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dreary
Credit should also go to whoever scouted and dressed the deliberately dreary locations used, a selection of bare concrete architecture in what looks like the cheating side of every town.
—
Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2025
Normal people just find the whole brand overhaul ugly and dreary and cheap-looking.
—Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 22 Aug. 2025
But its German- and Czech-style beers would sparkle even in a dreary moonscape.
—Peter Rowe, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Aug. 2025
In winter, the glass garage doors stay closed, casting a warm glow onto the street and drawing people in from the cold and dreary to eat shoulder-to-shoulder with fellow Portlanders.
—Chelsea Frank, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dreary
Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2025
Normal people just find the whole brand overhaul ugly and dreary and cheap-looking.
—Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 22 Aug. 2025
But its German- and Czech-style beers would sparkle even in a dreary moonscape.
—Peter Rowe, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Aug. 2025
In winter, the glass garage doors stay closed, casting a warm glow onto the street and drawing people in from the cold and dreary to eat shoulder-to-shoulder with fellow Portlanders.
—Chelsea Frank, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dreary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dreary
Adjective
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Yes, there are good reasons to question NASA's long-term plans for the Artemis lunar program—the woeful cost of the Space Launch System rocket, the complexity of new commercial landers, and a bleak budget outlook.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
12 Sep. 2025
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That's rather bleak, while Charlie Sheen's life has just been bonkers.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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His relentless prepackaged positivity — even in the wake of depressing game day results — turned him into something of a punch line.—
Ian O'Connor,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
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The depressing effect of the seasonality is somewhat offset by the ‘5’ effect.—
Bill Sarubbi,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Farming takes so long and is so boring, some of us said.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Sep. 2025
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The Clark County Fire Department said that tunnel boring operations had been temporarily halted at the site pending an ongoing accident investigation.—
Jessica Mathews,
Fortune,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Interestingly, Lorraine has taught Judy to ward off her frightening visions by using a nursery rhyme, effectively teaching her to suppress her dark side.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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The Dolphins wear white jerseys at home for afternoon games, forcing opponents to wear darker colors that absorb more heat.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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But now, the King and the royal family have received very sad news that will change things going forward.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
5 Sep. 2025
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Shooting scenes in wide or medium shots that sometimes break into Hsiao-Lee’s harrowing point-of-view, cinematographer Yu Jing-Pin depicts a world without much color or hope, while sets by Huang Mei-Ching and Tu Shuo-Feng emphasize a sad and impoverished existence.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Without a strict hierarchy or single decision-maker, our process can sometimes be slow, messy, or even tiring.—
Caterina De Biasio,
Vogue,
11 Sep. 2025
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The film is a mess, opaque in its argument and tiring in its effortful weirdness, and yet in its best moments has a hypnotic pull.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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His work in those early days bears little resemblance to the crystalline large-format portraits of lonely American landscapes that would come to define his career.—
Chris Wiley,
New Yorker,
9 Sep. 2025
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Quarterback is an isolating and lonely position, despite entire infrastructures reverse-engineered in service of those who play it, to say nothing of the elaborate playbooks created for them.—
Seth Wickersham,
The Atlantic,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The end of that era came slowly, through the pathetic collapse of Syria and Lebanon as functioning states, and then quickly, when Israel began touching Hezbollah in unexpected places.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
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Want the poop on this pathetic history?—
Brian Domitrovic,
Forbes.com,
30 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dreary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dreary. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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