mirthless en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- mûrth'lĭs
- (US) audio
- /ˈmɝθlɪs/
- mûrth'lĕs
- /ˈmɝθləs/
Etymology
From Middle English myrtheles, equivalent to mirth + -less.
Meanings
-
Lacking mirth; devoid of joy; sad.
The laughter of man is more terrible than his tears, and takes more forms: hollow, heartless, mirthless, maniacal...
1958 December 7, James Thurber, The New York Times Magazine:In life, David Lodge was surprisingly mirthless. Luckily, his wife was a hoot [title]
2025 January 4, Rachel Cooke, “In life, David Lodge was surprisingly mirthless. Luckily, his wife was a hoot”, in The Observer, →ISSN:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more mirthless | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| mirthlesse | alternative | lexicographic | |
| most mirthless | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Synonyms
uncheery · solemn · bleak · desolate · unmirthful · woeful · spiritless · dismal · dark · disconsolate · unmirthful · sombre · unmerry · unhappy · wintry · mirthless · drearisome · laughless · forlorn · dolesome · cheerless · melancholy · morose · unjocose · unhilarious · gayless · saturnine · lack-laughter · unhysterical · unlaughable · grim · gray · humorless · irrisible · miserable · doleful · dreary · drear · gloomy · joyless · nonhumorous · sullen · dreich · comfortless · no joke · depressing · jokeless · dire · unhumorous · unjocular · mirthless · gloomsome · sunless · uncheerful · funny as a dose of the clap · bleak · somber · lugubrious