dreary en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈdɹiəɹi/ (New-Zealand)
- /ˈdɹɪəɹi/ (Australia, Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈdɹiɹe/ (Scotland)
- /ˈdɹɪɹi/ General American, mirror–nearer merger
- (US) audio mirror-nearer
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈdɹɛːɹi/ East Anglia, cheer–chair merger
- /ˈdɹiɹi/ (US) without the mirror–nearer merger
- /ˈdɹiɹɪ/ (Scotland)
- /ˈdɹɪɚi/ (US) without the mirror–nearer merger
Etymology
From Middle English drery, from Old English drēoriġ (“sad”), from Proto-West Germanic *dreuʀag, from Proto-Germanic *dreuzagaz (“bloody”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrews- (“to break, break off, crumble”), equivalent to drear + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian trurich (“sad, dreary”), West Frisian treurich (“sad, dreary”), Dutch treurig (“sad, gloomy”), Low German trurig (“sad”), German traurig (“sad, sorrowful, mournful”), Old Norse dreyrugr, dreyrigr (“bloody, gory”), whence Icelandic dreyrugur (“bloody”). Related to Old English drēor (“blood, falling blood”), Old English drysmian (“to become gloomy”).
Meanings
-
Drab; dark, colorless, or cheerless.
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary...
It had rained for three days straight, and the dreary weather dragged the townspeople's spirits down.
It was on a dreary night of November, that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils.
1818, Mary Shelley, chapter V, in Frankenstein, volume 1:The train is booked to stop at Jiza for only three minutes, but more often than not twenty minutes or more are spent on shunting before it sets off again on what must be one of the most dreary journeys in the world.
1956 March, R. C. Blaker, “The Hedjaz Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 165:
- (obsolete) Grievous, dire; appalling.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| drearier | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| dreariest | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more dreary | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most dreary | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Deriveds
dreariness · drearily · dreariment · drearihood · drearisome · drear · drearihead
Synonyms
somber · lackluster · uncolorful · dolesome · dreich · gloomy · gloomsome · dire · saturnine · wan · solemn · unmerry · desolate · dreary · drear · cheerless · gloomy · dismal · colourless · lack-laughter · wintry · joyless · bland · sad · uncheerful · uncheery · morose · dull · leaden · no joke · unhappy · dim · sullen · bleak · doleful · woeful · melancholy · grim · bleak · dark · faint · spiritless · dingy · sombre · sober · comfortless · disconsolate · sunless · forlorn · gayless · lugubrious · unholiday · muddy · gray · miserable · depressing · drearisome · mirthless
Translations (63)
sq trishtë (drab) · nb dyster (drab) · enm dregh (drab) · nl lusteloos (drab) · it melanconico (drab) · de öde (drab) · cs depresivní (drab) · ja わびしい (drab) · ota آجی (drab) · hu borongós (drab) · hu sivár (drab) · de trüb (drab) · ru тоскли́вый (drab) · hu bús (drab) · bg тъжен (drab) · hu búbánatos (drab) · is drungalegur (drab) · mi takeo (drab) · cs ponurý (drab) · hu búskomor (drab) · fi surkea (drab) · hu bánatos (drab) · hu kietlen (drab) · ro insipid (drab) · hu borús (drab) · hu barátságtalan (drab) · es aburrido (drab) · ru печа́льный (drab) · ro trist (drab) · hu komor (drab) · cs pochmurný (drab) · ru мра́чный (drab) · ro tern (drab) · hu kopár (drab) · ru гру́стный (drab) · es triste (drab) · ja 荒涼とした (drab) · ru му́торный (drab) · de freudlos (drab) · hu örömtelen (drab) · it malinconico (drab) · fr insipide (drab) · de trostlos (drab) · cs chmurný (drab) · am ቀፋፊ (drab) · eo malgaja (drab) · sv dyster (drab) · hu rideg (drab) · cs šedivý (drab) · pt melancólico (drab) · ro mosad (drab) · fr terne (drab) · nn dyster (drab) · ro melancolic (drab) · ga dearóil (drab) · ru безотра́дный (drab) · sv trist (drab) · fr maussade (drab) · fi ankea (drab) · enm drery (drab) · ang wynleas (drab) · nl bleek (drab) · bg мрачен (drab)