Definition

Adjective 1. Dismal, bleak, or gloomy; causing sadness or dejection. * This word describes something that is profoundly cheerless, depressing, or melancholy in appearance, atmosphere, or effect.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective:
  • The landscape was a drear expanse of mud and leafless trees.
  • They spent a drear afternoon in the empty, silent house.
  • His future looked drear and without promise.

Advanced Usage Notes

• Literary and Formal Tone: "Drear" is a somewhat literary and old-fashioned word. In modern everyday English, synonyms like "dreary," "bleak," "gloomy," or "dismal" are more common. Using "drear" can convey a poetic or deliberately archaic feeling.
• Often used with 'and': It frequently appears paired with another descriptive adjective for emphasis, e.g., "drear and desolate," "drear and dark."

Variants and Related Words

• Dreary (adj): The much more common modern form, meaning dull, bleak, and depressing.
  • She lived in a dreary little town.
• Dreariness (n): The state or quality of being dreary.
  • The endless dreariness of the winter months.

Synonyms

• Bleak
• Gloomy
• Dismal
• Depressing
• Cheerless
• Somber
• Melancholy

Antonyms

• Cheerful
• Bright
• Sunny
• Joyful
• Inviting

Idioms and Fixed Phrases

• (As) drear as a tomb: An expressive simile emphasizing extreme gloom and silence.
  • The abandoned mansion was as drear as a tomb.

Adjective

1. causing dejection
   • 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