dreariness en · NOUN
Etymology
From Middle English drerinesse, drerynesse, from Old English drēoriġnys (“dreariness, sadness”), equivalent to dreary + -ness.
Meanings
-
(countable, uncountable) The characteristic of being dreary.
What tho’ the moon—the white moon Shed all the splendour of her noon, Her smile is chilly—and her beam, In that time of dreariness, will seem (So like you gather in your breath) A portrait taken after death.
1829, Edgar Allan Poe, “Tamerlane”, in Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| drearinesses | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Synonyms
melancholia · gloom · drearihead
Translations (4)
de Langweiligkeit (state of being dreary) · de Tristesse (state of being dreary) · de Öde (state of being dreary) · de Trostlosigkeit (state of being dreary)