Standard Lemma guide

gloomy

adj · noun · 6 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.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈɡluːmi/
  • General-American: /ˈɡlumi/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -uːmi
  • CMU ARPABET: G L UW1 M IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Not very illuminated; dim because of darkness, especially when appearing depressing or frightening.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The cavern was gloomy.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dusky, dim, clouded, blear, caliginous, cimmerian, crepuscular, dark, darksome, darkling, dimpsy, dingy, dull, fuliginous, gloomy, infernal, leaden, lightless, mirksome, murky, murksome, obscure, shady, somber, sombrous, stygian, sunless, swarthy, tenebrose, tenebrous, twilightish, umbrageous, unilluminated

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Suffering from gloom; melancholy; dejected.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • a gloomy temper or countenance

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: bleak, depressed, dreary, miserable, cheerless, comfortless, dark, morose, depressing, desolate, dire, disconsolate, dismal, doleful, dolesome, drear, drearisome, dreich, forlorn, gayless, gray, gloomsome, gloomy, grim, joyless, lack-laughter, lugubrious, melancholy, mirthless, no joke, saturnine, solemn, somber, sombre, spiritless, sullen, sunless, uncheerful, uncheery, unhappy, unmerry, wintry, woeful, atrabiliary, atrabilious, blitheless, dispirited, blue, bummed out, chapfallen, chopfallen, crestfallen, cut up, damp, dejected, despondent, disgruntled, disheartened, down, down in the dumps, down in the mouth, downcast, downhearted, downsome, dull, elegiac, elegious, glum, grief-stricken, grieving, heavy-hearted, heartsore, heartsick, inconsolable, infelicitous, jawfallen, lachrymose, lamentful, low, low-spirited, lumpish, melancholic, moody, mopey, mournful, passionate, plaintive, Plutonian, Plutonic, querulous, ruthful, sad, saddened, shattered, sorrowful, sorrow-ridden, sorrowsome, threnetic, threnetical, triste, tristful, unconsolable, unlively, wistful, woe, woebegone, wretched

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Someone or something that is gloomy or pessimistic.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

depressingly dark

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the gloomy forest
  • the glooming interior of an old inn
  • `gloomful' is archaic

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: glooming, gloomful, sulky

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

causing dejection

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a blue day
  • the dark days of the war
  • a week of rainy depressing weather
  • a disconsolate winter landscape
  • the first dismal dispiriting days of November
  • a dark gloomy day
  • grim rainy weather

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: blue, dark, dingy, disconsolate, dismal, grim, sorry, drab, drear, dreary

Antonyms: none provided

6

adjective satellite

Meaning 6

filled with melancholy and despondency

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • gloomy at the thought of what he had to face
  • gloomy predictions
  • a gloomy silence
  • took a grim view of the economy
  • the darkening mood
  • lonely and blue in a strange city
  • depressed by the loss of his job
  • a dispirited and resigned expression on her face
  • downcast after his defeat
  • feeling discouraged and downhearted

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: grim, blue, depressed, dispirited, down(p), downcast, downhearted, down in the mouth, low, low-spirited

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From gloom + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian glumig (“dark, gloomy”).

Across languages

Translations

187 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: zymtë — imperfectly illuminated
  • Albanian: errët — imperfectly illuminated
  • Armenian: աղոտ (aġot) — imperfectly illuminated
  • Armenian: մթին (mtʻin) — imperfectly illuminated
  • Belarusian: цёмны (cjómny) — imperfectly illuminated
  • Belarusian: змро́чны (zmróčny) — imperfectly illuminated
  • Bulgarian: тъ́мен (tǎ́men) — imperfectly illuminated
  • Bulgarian: мра́чен (mráčen) — imperfectly illuminated
  • Catalan: ombriu — imperfectly illuminated
  • Catalan: ombrívol — imperfectly illuminated
  • Catalan: llòbrec — imperfectly illuminated
  • Chinese Mandarin: 陰沉 /阴沉 (yīnchén) — imperfectly illuminated
  • Chinese Mandarin: 陰鬱 /阴郁 (yīnyù) — imperfectly illuminated
  • Czech: pochmurný — imperfectly illuminated
  • Czech: temný — imperfectly illuminated
  • Danish: dyster — imperfectly illuminated
  • Danish: dunkel — imperfectly illuminated
  • Dutch: duister — imperfectly illuminated
  • Dutch: donker — imperfectly illuminated
  • Finnish: hämyinen — imperfectly illuminated
  • Finnish: hämärä — imperfectly illuminated
  • Finnish: synkkä — imperfectly illuminated
  • Finnish: pimeä — imperfectly illuminated
  • French: lugubre — imperfectly illuminated
  • French: sombre — imperfectly illuminated
  • French: terne — imperfectly illuminated
  • Galician: escuro — imperfectly illuminated
  • Galician: fusco — imperfectly illuminated
  • Galician: celobre — imperfectly illuminated
  • Galician: avesío — imperfectly illuminated
  • Galician: surnego — imperfectly illuminated
  • Galician: lampreo — imperfectly illuminated
  • German: düster — imperfectly illuminated
  • German: finster — imperfectly illuminated
  • German: trübe — imperfectly illuminated
  • German: dunkel — imperfectly illuminated
  • German: trüb — imperfectly illuminated
  • Ancient Greek: ἐρεμνός (eremnós) — imperfectly illuminated
  • Hebrew: אפל (afél) — imperfectly illuminated
  • Hungarian: sötét — imperfectly illuminated
  • Hungarian: homályos — imperfectly illuminated
  • Icelandic: þungbúinn — imperfectly illuminated
  • Irish: doilbhir — imperfectly illuminated
  • Irish: duibheagánach — imperfectly illuminated
  • Italian: tetro — imperfectly illuminated
  • Italian: uggioso — imperfectly illuminated
  • Japanese: 暗い (kurai) — imperfectly illuminated
  • Korean: 어두운 (eoduun) — imperfectly illuminated
  • Latin: nūbilus — imperfectly illuminated
  • Macedonian: мра́чен (mráčen) — imperfectly illuminated
  • Macedonian: те́мен (témen) — imperfectly illuminated
  • Māori: taupuru — imperfectly illuminated
  • Māori: kaurehu — imperfectly illuminated
  • Māori: kōrehurehu — imperfectly illuminated
  • Māori: pakarea — imperfectly illuminated
  • Māori: pōkēkē — imperfectly illuminated
  • Māori: kōrerehu — imperfectly illuminated
  • Māori: pōuriuri — imperfectly illuminated
  • Māori: hīnakipōuri — imperfectly illuminated
  • Plautdietsch: dunkel — imperfectly illuminated
  • Polish: mroczny — imperfectly illuminated
  • Portuguese: escuro — imperfectly illuminated
  • Portuguese: obscuro — imperfectly illuminated
  • Portuguese: trevas — imperfectly illuminated
  • Russian: мра́чный (mráčnyj) — imperfectly illuminated
  • Russian: тёмный (tjómnyj) — imperfectly illuminated
  • Scots: drumlie — imperfectly illuminated
  • Scots: mirk — imperfectly illuminated
  • Scottish Gaelic: ciar — imperfectly illuminated
  • Scottish Gaelic: doilleir — imperfectly illuminated
  • Serbo-Croatian: mráčan — imperfectly illuminated
  • Serbo-Croatian: támān — imperfectly illuminated
  • Slovak: ponurý — imperfectly illuminated
  • Slovak: pošmúrny — imperfectly illuminated
  • Slovak: pochmúrny — imperfectly illuminated
  • Spanish: lóbrego — imperfectly illuminated
  • Turkish: kasvetli — imperfectly illuminated
  • Ukrainian: те́мний (témnyj) — imperfectly illuminated
  • Arabic: كَئِيب (kaʔīb) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Arabic: مُوحِش (mūḥiš) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Armenian: մռայլ (mṙayl) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Belarusian: змро́чны (zmróčny) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Bulgarian: уни́л (uníl) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Bulgarian: меланхоли́чен (melanholíčen) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Catalan: ombriu — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Catalan: tètric — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Chinese Mandarin: 陰沉 /阴沉 (yīnchén) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Chinese Mandarin: 陰鬱 /阴郁 (yīnyù) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Czech: pochmurný — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Czech: sklíčený — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Dutch: benauwd — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Dutch: melancholisch — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Esperanto: morna — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Esperanto: sombra — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Finnish: synkeä — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Finnish: synkkä — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Finnish: raskasmielinen — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Finnish: surumielinen — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Finnish: kolkko — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Finnish: ankea — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Finnish: iloton — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • French: lugubre — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • French: maussade — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • French: mélancolique — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • French: morne — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • French: sombre — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • French: terne — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Georgian: დაღვრემილი (daɣvremili) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Georgian: მოღუშული (moɣušuli) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Georgian: პირქუში (ṗirkuši) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Georgian: გაუხარებელი (gauxarebeli) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Georgian: დამძიმებული (damʒimebuli) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Georgian: სულდამძიმებული (suldamʒimebuli) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Georgian: წარბებშეჭმუხვნილი (c̣arbebšeč̣muxvnili) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Georgian: შუბლშეკრული (šublšeḳruli) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • German: düster — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • German: dunkel — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • German: melancholisch — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • German: betrübt — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • German: niedergeschlagen — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • German: deprimiert — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • German: traurig — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • German: schwermütig — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • German: freudlos — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Ancient Greek: σκυθρωπός (skuthrōpós) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Hebrew: קודר (kodér) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Hungarian: mélabús — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Hungarian: melankolikus — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Hungarian: rosszkedvű — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Irish: duairc — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Irish: gruama — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Italian: cupo — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Italian: lugubre — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Japanese: 暗い (kurai) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Japanese: 陰気な (inki na) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Japanese: 陰鬱な (in'utsu na) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Latin: nūbilus — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Lithuanian: niūrus — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Macedonian: мра́чен (mráčen) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Macedonian: та́жен (tážen) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Macedonian: у́вилен (úvilen) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Macedonian: безра́досен (bezrádosen) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Macedonian: те́мен (témen) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Macedonian: меланхо́личен (melanhóličen) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Māori: hākerekere — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Māori: matapōuri — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Māori: pōkē — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Māori: pōkēkē — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Māori: tiwhatiwha — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Māori: poururu — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Māori: mōkinokino — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Portuguese: triste — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Portuguese: melancólico — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Portuguese: pessimista — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Portuguese: lôbrego — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Portuguese: lúgubre — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Portuguese: sombrio — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Portuguese: soturno — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Portuguese: tétrico — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Romanian: lugubru — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Romanian: melancolic — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Romanian: sombru — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Romanian: tern — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Russian: мра́чный (mráčnyj) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Russian: угрю́мый (ugrjúmyj) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Russian: хму́рый (xmúryj) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Russian: печа́льный (pečálʹnyj) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Russian: безотра́дный (bezotrádnyj) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Russian: безра́достный (bezrádostnyj) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Russian: уны́лый (unýlyj) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Scots: dreich — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Scottish Gaelic: gruamach — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Scottish Gaelic: dubhach — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Serbo-Croatian: mráčan — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Serbo-Croatian: támān — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Serbo-Croatian: sumoran — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Slovak: zasmušilý — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Slovak: skľúčený — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Slovak: pochmúrny — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Slovene: otožen — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Spanish: lóbrego — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Spanish: tétrico — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Spanish: luctuoso — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Swedish: dyster — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Ottoman Turkish: آجی (acı) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Ukrainian: похму́рий (poxmúryj) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
  • Ukrainian: сумни́й (sumnýj) — affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy
Real reading context

gloomy in complete knowledge articles