Standard Lemma guide

bleak

adj · noun · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /bliːk/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -iːk
  • CMU ARPABET: B L IY1 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Without color; pale; pallid.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: pasty, sallow, ashen, ashen-faced, ashy, blake, blanched, bleak, bloodless, chalky, exsanguious, ghastly, grey, livid, pale, pallid, wan, washed out, white, whey-faced

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Desolate and exposed; swept by cold winds.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • a bleak and bare rock
  • a bleak, crater-pocked moonscape
  • They escaped across the bleak landscape.
  • We hiked across open meadows and climbed bleak mountains.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Unhappy; cheerless; miserable; emotionally desolate.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Downtown Albany felt bleak that February after the divorce.
  • A bleak future is in store for you.
  • The news is bleak.
  • The survey paints a bleak picture.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dismal, lugubrious, cheerless, comfortless, bleak, dark, morose, depressing, desolate, dire, disconsolate, doleful, dolesome, drear, drearisome, dreary, dreich, forlorn, gayless, gray, gloomsome, gloomy, grim, joyless, lack-laughter, melancholy, mirthless, miserable, no joke, saturnine, solemn, somber, sombre, spiritless, sullen, sunless, uncheerful, uncheery, unhappy, unmerry, wintry, woeful

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A small European river fish (Alburnus alburnus), of the family Cyprinidae.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: sea chameleon

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

offering little or no hope- J.M.Synge

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the future looked black
  • prospects were bleak
  • Life in the Aran Islands has always been bleak and difficult
  • took a dim view of things

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: black, dim

Antonyms: none provided

6

adjective satellite

Meaning 6

providing no shelter or sustenance

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • bare rocky hills
  • barren lands
  • the bleak treeless regions of the high Andes
  • the desolate surface of the moon
  • a stark landscape

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: bare, barren, desolate, stark

Antonyms: none provided

7

adjective satellite

Meaning 7

unpleasantly cold and damp

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • bleak winds of the North Atlantic

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cutting, raw

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English bleke (also bleche, whence the English doublet bleach (“pale, bleak”)), and bleike (due to Old Norse), and earlier Middle English blak, blac (“pale, wan”), from Old English blǣc, blǣċ, blāc (“bleak, pale, pallid”) and Old Norse bleikr (“pale, whitish”), all from Proto-Germanic *blaikaz (“pale, shining”). Cognate with Dutch bleek (“pale, wan, pallid”), Low German blek (“pale”), German bleich (“pale, wan, sallow”), Danish bleg (“pale”), Swedish blek (“pale, pallid”), Norwegian Bokmål bleik, blek (“pale”), Norwegian Nynorsk bleik (“pale”), Faroese bleikur (“pale”), Icelandic bleikur (“pale, pink”).

From Middle English bleke (“small river fish, bleak, blay”), perhaps an alteration (due to Old English blǣc (“bright”) or Old Norse bleikja) of Old English blǣġe (“bleak, blay, gudgeon”); or perhaps from a diminutive of Middle English *bleye (“blay”), equivalent to blay + -ock or blay + -kin. See blay.

Across languages

Translations

174 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: դժգույն (džguyn) — without color
  • Bulgarian: блед (bled) — without color
  • Bulgarian: безцветен (bezcveten) — without color
  • Catalan: pàl·lid — without color
  • Chinese Mandarin: 苍白 (cāngbái) — without color
  • Czech: bledý — without color
  • Danish: bleg — without color
  • Dutch: bleek — without color
  • Dutch: kleurloos — without color
  • Estonian: kaame — without color
  • Estonian: kahvatu — without color
  • Estonian: plass — without color
  • Finnish: kalpea — without color
  • Finnish: väritön — without color
  • French: morne — without color
  • French: terne — without color
  • Georgian: უფერული (uperuli) — without color
  • Georgian: ფერმკრთალი (permḳrtali) — without color
  • German: farblos — without color
  • German: bleich — without color
  • German: ausgeblichen — without color
  • Greek: άχρωμος (áchromos) — without color
  • Italian: pallido — without color
  • Italian: incolore — without color
  • Portuguese: pálido — without color
  • Romanian: palid — without color
  • Romanian: spălăcit — without color
  • Russian: бесцве́тный (bescvétnyj) — without color
  • Russian: бле́дный (blédnyj) — without color
  • Sicilian: giarnu — without color
  • Sicilian: sbiancatu — without color
  • Sicilian: sghiancatu — without color
  • Spanish: sin color — without color
  • Spanish: pálido — without color
  • Swedish: blek — without color
  • Swedish: färglös — without color
  • Turkish: solgun — without color
  • Turkish: soluk — without color
  • Turkish: renksiz — without color
  • Ukrainian: бліди́й (blidýj) — without color
  • Armenian: դժգույն (džguyn) — desolate and exposed
  • Bulgarian: гол (gol) — desolate and exposed
  • Bulgarian: открит (otkrit) — desolate and exposed
  • Catalan: desolat — desolate and exposed
  • Catalan: erm — desolate and exposed
  • Chinese Mandarin: 荒凉 (huāngliáng) — desolate and exposed
  • Chinese Mandarin: 冷清 (lěngqīng) — desolate and exposed
  • Czech: neutěšený — desolate and exposed
  • Czech: nehostinný — desolate and exposed
  • Czech: pustý — desolate and exposed
  • Dutch: desolaat — desolate and exposed
  • Dutch: guur — desolate and exposed
  • Finnish: karu — desolate and exposed
  • Finnish: paljas — desolate and exposed
  • Georgian: ღია (ɣia) — desolate and exposed
  • Georgian: დაუცველი (daucveli) — desolate and exposed
  • Georgian: მოტიტვლებული (moṭiṭvlebuli) — desolate and exposed
  • German: öde — desolate and exposed
  • German: ungeschützt — desolate and exposed
  • German: trostlos — desolate and exposed
  • German: kahl — desolate and exposed
  • German: karg — desolate and exposed
  • German: desolat — desolate and exposed
  • Greek: έρημος (érimos) — desolate and exposed
  • Greek: ψυχρός (psychrós) — desolate and exposed
  • Irish: argail — desolate and exposed
  • Irish: dearóil — desolate and exposed
  • Italian: desolato — desolate and exposed
  • Kazakh: сүреңсіз (süreñsız) — desolate and exposed
  • Manx: meayl — desolate and exposed
  • Māori: hāhā — desolate and exposed
  • Māori: mōwai — desolate and exposed
  • Māori: hahore — desolate and exposed
  • Māori: tūhea — desolate and exposed
  • Portuguese: desolado — desolate and exposed
  • Romanian: pustiu — desolate and exposed
  • Russian: го́лый (gólyj) — desolate and exposed
  • Russian: откры́тый (otkrýtyj) — desolate and exposed
  • Russian: незащищённый (nezaščiščónnyj) — desolate and exposed
  • Scottish Gaelic: lom — desolate and exposed
  • Sicilian: ngustiatu — desolate and exposed
  • Spanish: desolado — desolate and exposed
  • Spanish: yermo — desolate and exposed
  • Armenian: դժգույն (džguyn) — cheerless
  • Bulgarian: мрачен (mračen) — cheerless
  • Bulgarian: безрадостен (bezradosten) — cheerless
  • Catalan: amargat — cheerless
  • Catalan: pansit — cheerless
  • Chinese Mandarin: 黯淡 (àndàn) — cheerless
  • Chinese Mandarin: 惨淡 (cǎndàn) — cheerless
  • Chinese Mandarin: 淒涼 /凄凉 (qīliáng) — cheerless
  • Czech: neradostný — cheerless
  • Czech: bezútěšný — cheerless
  • Czech: pochmurný — cheerless
  • Dutch: vreugdeloos — cheerless
  • Finnish: synkkä — cheerless
  • Finnish: kolkko — cheerless
  • French: morne — cheerless
  • German: freudlos — cheerless
  • German: trostlos — cheerless
  • German: trübe — cheerless
  • German: düster — cheerless
  • German: desolat — cheerless
  • Greek: άχαρος (ácharos) — cheerless
  • Greek: θλιβερός (thliverós) — cheerless
  • Greek: άθλιος (áthlios) — cheerless
  • Irish: dearóil — cheerless
  • Italian: triste — cheerless
  • Italian: misero — cheerless
  • Italian: infelice — cheerless
  • Kazakh: көңілсіз (köñılsız) — cheerless
  • Kazakh: жабырқаңқы (jabyrqañqy) — cheerless
  • Kazakh: құлазыған (qūlazyğan) — cheerless
  • Māori: mōkinokino — cheerless
  • Portuguese: desanimado — cheerless
  • Romanian: palid — cheerless
  • Romanian: dezolat — cheerless
  • Romanian: trist — cheerless
  • Russian: мра́чный (mráčnyj) — cheerless
  • Russian: безра́достный (bezrádostnyj) — cheerless
  • Scottish Gaelic: gruamach — cheerless
  • Sicilian: mischinu — cheerless
  • Sicilian: nfilici — cheerless
  • Spanish: sin alegría — cheerless
  • Spanish: amargado — cheerless
  • Swedish: dyster — cheerless
  • Turkish: kasvetli — cheerless
  • Turkish: kara — cheerless
  • Albanian: gjuhcë — small European river fish
  • Albanian: cironkë — small European river fish
  • Albanian: cime — small European river fish
  • Albanian: korobace — small European river fish
  • Bulgarian: уклей (uklej) — small European river fish
  • Bulgarian: блескач (bleskač) — small European river fish
  • Catalan: alburn — small European river fish
  • Czech: ouklej obecná — small European river fish
  • Dutch: alver — small European river fish
  • Estonian: viidikas — small European river fish
  • Finnish: salakka — small European river fish
  • French: ablette — small European river fish
  • German: Laube — small European river fish
  • German: Ukelei — small European river fish
  • Greek: σίρκο (sírko) — small European river fish
  • Hungarian: küsz — small European river fish
  • Hungarian: szélhajtó küsz — small European river fish
  • Hungarian: sneci — small European river fish
  • Ingrian: ukleikka — small European river fish
  • Italian: alborella — small European river fish
  • Italian: alburno — small European river fish
  • Komi-Zyrian: бадькормык (baďkormyk) — small European river fish
  • Komi-Zyrian: бадькор (baďkor) — small European river fish
  • Komi-Zyrian: шаклей (šakľej) — small European river fish
  • Latin: alburnus — small European river fish
  • Latin: albica — small European river fish
  • Latvian: vīķe — small European river fish
  • Luxembourgish: Aalbes — small European river fish
  • Eastern Mari: мыле (myĺe) — small European river fish
  • Eastern Mari: вишкыле (viškyĺe) — small European river fish
  • Eastern Mari: шапкагол (šapkagol) — small European river fish
  • Western Mari: сильди (siĺdi) — small European river fish
  • Mazanderani: اسلف (aslef) — small European river fish
  • Mazanderani: اسلک (aslek) — small European river fish
  • Old English: blǣġe — small European river fish
  • Polish: ukleja — small European river fish
  • Portuguese: alburnete — small European river fish
  • Russian: укле́йка (ukléjka) — small European river fish
  • Serbo-Croatian: uklija — small European river fish
  • Spanish: albur — small European river fish
  • Spanish: alburno — small European river fish
  • Swedish: löja — small European river fish
  • Turkish: akkefal — small European river fish
  • Udmurt: бадькуар (baďkuar) — small European river fish
  • Udmurt: вувылчорыг (vuvylćoryg) — small European river fish
  • Ukrainian: верхово́дка (verxovódka) — small European river fish
Real reading context

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