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BLEAK

Pronunciation (US):

Dictionary entry overview: What does bleak mean?

• BLEAK (adjective)
The adjective BLEAK has 3 senses:

1. offering little or no hope
2. providing no shelter or sustenance
3. unpleasantly cold and damp

Familiarity information: BLEAK used as an adjective is uncommon.

Dictionary entry details

• BLEAK (adjective)

Sense 1

bleak ^{[BACK TO TOP]}

Meaning:

Offering little or no hope

Synonyms:

bleak; dim; black

Context examples:

the future looked black / prospects were bleak / Life in the Aran Islands has always been bleak and difficult / took a dim view of things

Similar:

hopeless (without hope because there seems to be no possibility of comfort or success)

Sense 2

bleak ^{[BACK TO TOP]}

Meaning:

Providing no shelter or sustenance

Synonyms:

desolate; barren; bleak; stark; bare

Context examples:

bare rocky hills / barren lands / the bleak treeless regions of the high Andes / the desolate surface of the moon / a stark landscape

Similar:

inhospitable (unfavorable to life or growth)

Sense 3

bleak ^{[BACK TO TOP]}

Meaning:

Unpleasantly cold and damp

Synonyms:

cutting; bleak; raw

Context example:

bleak winds of the North Atlantic

Similar:

cold (used of physical coldness; having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration)

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