Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of gloomy

120 similar words

Another word for gloomy is dark. Other synonyms of gloomy are obscure, depressed, miserable, unhappy and depressing.

Synonyms and similar words for gloomy

adjectiveNot very illuminated; dim because of darkness, especially when appearing depressing or frightening.

adjectiveSuffering from gloom; melancholy; dejected.

  • bleakUnhappy; cheerless; miserable; emotionally desolate.
  • depressedUnhappy; despondent.
  • drearyDrab; dark, colorless, or cheerless.
  • miserableIn a state of misery: very sad, ill, or poor.
  • cheerlessDevoid of cheer; gloomy.
  • comfortlessOf a thing: offering no comfort; uncomforting.
  • moroseSullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour.
  • depressingCausing depression or sadness.
  • desolateDismal or dreary.
  • direExpressing bad consequences: dreadful; dismal.
  • disconsolateCheerless, dreary.
  • dismalCausing despair; gloomy and bleak.
  • dolefulFilled with grief, mournful, bringing feelings of sadness.
  • dolesomeCharacterised or marked by sorrow and grief; doleful; dismal; gloomy.
  • drearDreary.
  • drearisomeCharacterised or marked by dreariness.
  • dreich UK, dialectalBleak, cheerless, dismal, dreary, miserable.
  • forlornPitifully sad, wretched, miserable; lonely, especially from feeling abandoned, deserted, forsaken.
  • gaylessLacking gaiety; gloomy; somber; drab.
  • grayDreary, gloomy, cloudy.
  • gloomsomeCharacterised or marked by gloom.
  • grimDismal and gloomy, cold and forbidding.
  • joylessWithout joy; unhappy, sad.
  • lack-laughterCheerless; sombre; serious.
  • lugubriousGloomy, mournful or dismal, especially to an exaggerated degree.
  • melancholyAffected with great sadness or depression.
  • mirthlessLacking mirth; devoid of joy; sad.
  • no joke
  • saturnineOf a person: having a tendency to be cold and gloomy.
  • sombreDark; gloomy; shadowy, dimly lit.
  • spiritlessLacking energy, drive, motivation or emotion. Enervated.
  • sullenGloomy; dismal; foreboding.
  • uncheerfulNot cheerful.
  • uncheeryNot cheery; gloomy, pessimistic.
  • unhappyNot happy; sad.
  • unmerryNot merry, the opposite of merry; sad, gloomy.
  • wintryChilling, cheerless.
  • woefulFull of woe; sorrowful; distressed with grief or calamity.
  • atrabiliary
  • atrabilious
  • blithelessWithout happiness or joy; unjoyful; sorrowful; sad.
  • dispiritedWithout energy, gusto or drive, enervated, without the will to accomplish, disheartened.
  • blueDepressed, melancholic, sad.
  • bummed outDepressed, disappointed, in a gloomy mood.
  • chapfallenCrestfallen, dejected.
  • chopfallenSynonym of chapfallen.
  • crestfallen
  • cut up Australia, UKEmotionally upset; mentally distressed.
  • damp figuratively
  • dejectedSad and dispirited.
  • despondentIn low spirits from loss of hope or courage.
  • disgruntledIn a dissatisfied, frustrated, or upset mood; in a bad temper or ill humour.
  • disheartenedDiscouraged, despairing.
  • downSad, unhappy, depressed, feeling low.
  • down in the dumpsSad; lacking engagement or enthusiasm.
  • down in the mouthSad or discouraged, especially as indicated by one's facial appearance.
  • downcastOf a person: feeling despondent or discouraged.
  • downheartedSad, discouraged, in low spirits, unhappy, having no hope.
  • downsomeLow-spirited; melancholy.
  • elegiacExpressing sorrow or mourning.
  • elegiousMelancholy, miserable, plaintive.
  • glumDespondent; moody; sullen.
  • grief-strickenVery sad.
  • grievingFeeling or showing sorrow or distress due to loss, especially the death of someone.
  • heavy-heartedSad, melancholic.
  • heartsoreHeartsick.
  • heartsickVery despondent or sorrowful; heartsore.
  • inconsolableNot consolable; unable to be consoled or comforted, usually due to grief, disappointment, or other distress.
  • infelicitous
  • jawfallenDejected, dispirited.
  • lachrymoseTearful, sorrowful, sad, pertaining to tears, weeping, causing tears or crying.
  • lowDepressed in mood, dejected, sad.
  • low-spiritedDisheartened, feeling low, in low spirits.
  • melancholicFilled with or affected by melancholy—great sadness or depression, especially of a thoughtful or introspective nature.
  • moodySulky or depressed.
  • mopeyGiven to moping; in a depressed condition, low in spirits; lackadaisical.
  • mournfulFilled with grief or sadness; being in a state in which one mourns.
  • plaintiveSounding sorrowful, mournful or melancholic.
  • PlutonianOf, relating to, or having characteristics associated with the underworld; dark, gloomy; mournful.
  • PlutonicSynonym of Plutonian (“of, relating to, or having characteristics associated with the underworld; dark, gloomy...
  • querulousOften complaining; suggesting a complaint in expression; fretful, whining.
  • ruthfulFull of sorrow; sorrowful; woeful; rueful.
  • sad
  • saddened
  • shatteredEmotionally defeated or dispirited.
  • solemnCheerless, gloomy, sombre.
  • sorrowfulExhibiting sorrow; dejected; distraught; sad. (of a person).

Meaning of gloomy

  1. adjective Not very illuminated; dim because of darkness, especially when appearing depressing or frightening.
  2. adjective Suffering from gloom; melancholy; dejected.
  3. noun Someone or something that is gloomy or pessimistic.

Full definition of gloomy

gloomy in other languages

Questions about synonyms of gloomy

What is another word for gloomy?
Gloomy has 120 synonyms on Word.ws, such as dark, obscure, depressed, miserable, unhappy, depressing, dingy and heavy-hearted.
What does gloomy mean?
Gloomy means not very illuminated; dim because of darkness, especially when appearing depressing or frightening.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: gloomy (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Synonyms of gloomy.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/gloomy. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.