Standard Lemma guide

dreariness

noun · 2 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.

  • CMU ARPABET: D R IY1 R IY0 N AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The characteristic of being dreary.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: drearihead, gloom, melancholia

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

extreme dullness; lacking spirit or interest

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: boringness, insipidness, insipidity

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: dullness

History

Etymology

From Middle English drerinesse, drerynesse, from Old English drēoriġnys (“dreariness, sadness”), equivalent to dreary + -ness.

Across languages

Translations

4 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • German: Trostlosigkeit — state of being dreary
  • German: Öde — state of being dreary
  • German: Tristesse — state of being dreary
  • German: Langweiligkeit — state of being dreary