CHEERLESS Synonyms: 115 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the adjective 'cheerless' contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of cheerless are bleak , desolate , dismal , dreary , and gloomy . While all these words mean "devoid of cheer or comfort," cheerless stresses absence of anything cheering. // a drab and cheerless office

Q: When could 'bleak' be used to replace 'cheerless'?

The meanings of bleak and cheerless largely overlap; however, bleak suggests chill, dull, and barren characteristics that utterly dishearten. // the bleak years of the depression

Q: Where would 'desolate' be a reasonable alternative to 'cheerless'?

In some situations, the words desolate and cheerless are roughly equivalent. However, desolate adds an element of utter remoteness or lack of human contact to any already disheartening aspect. // a desolate outpost

Q: When is it sensible to use 'dismal' instead of 'cheerless'?

While in some cases nearly identical to cheerless , dismal indicates extreme and utterly depressing gloominess. // dismal weather

Q: When might 'dreary' be a better fit than 'cheerless'?

The synonyms dreary and cheerless are sometimes interchangeable, but dreary , often interchangeable with dismal , emphasizes discouragement resulting from sustained dullness or futility. // a dreary job

Q: When is 'gloomy' a more appropriate choice than 'cheerless'?

While the synonyms gloomy and cheerless are close in meaning, gloomy often suggests lack of hope or promise. // gloomy war news

cheerless

adjective

ˈchir-ləs

Definition of cheerless

as in bleak

causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer a dank and cheerless castle that was once the site of unspeakable horrors

Synonyms & Similar Words

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How does the adjective cheerless contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of cheerless are bleak, desolate, dismal, dreary, and gloomy. While all these words mean "devoid of cheer or comfort," cheerless stresses absence of anything cheering.

a drab and cheerless office

When could bleak be used to replace cheerless?

The meanings of bleak and cheerless largely overlap; however, bleak suggests chill, dull, and barren characteristics that utterly dishearten.

the bleak years of the depression

Where would desolate be a reasonable alternative to cheerless?

In some situations, the words desolate and cheerless are roughly equivalent. However, desolate adds an element of utter remoteness or lack of human contact to any already disheartening aspect.

a desolate outpost

When is it sensible to use dismal instead of cheerless?

While in some cases nearly identical to cheerless, dismal indicates extreme and utterly depressing gloominess.

dismal weather

When might dreary be a better fit than cheerless?

The synonyms dreary and cheerless are sometimes interchangeable, but dreary, often interchangeable with dismal, emphasizes discouragement resulting from sustained dullness or futility.

a dreary job

When is gloomy a more appropriate choice than cheerless?

While the synonyms gloomy and cheerless are close in meaning, gloomy often suggests lack of hope or promise.

gloomy war news

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of cheerless The storm let up before daybreak, but the morning was gray and cheerless with a cold wind. — Elwyn "bud" Myers, Outdoor Life, 11 Mar. 2026 Gomez gestured across the street toward 100 Centre Street—the criminal courthouse, a cheerless Art Deco building the color of cinder blocks. — Sarah Lustbader, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025 Election polls may seem cheerless, inscrutable, and wrapped in data and murky terminology. — W. Joseph Campbell, Fortune, 29 Oct. 2024 Wedged between the cheerless skyscrapers of Third Avenue and an uncharming stretch of Second, just blocks north of the bro bars of Murray Hill, is a row of nine townhouses. — Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 2 Aug. 2024 Their lives had been expended in cheerless labor, there wills broken, their intelligences numbed. — Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 5 July 2024

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cheerless

Adjective

Although the news may be bleak for the dinner's thousands of supporters, the committee also shared a glimmer of hope.

— Bebe Hodges, Cincinnati Enquirer, 25 Aug. 2026
In many ways, her life feels like a bleak look at the false promise of placing all of your need for validation in your husband.

— Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of bleak

Adjective

Davis was much more somber, and his attorney, Wayne Higgins, is heard frequently admonishing his client for volunteering unnecessary information.

— Taylor Romine, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026
Bookended by drone shots of the Macedonian countryside and a somber cello refrain by Novogradska, this 86-minute doc is otherwise composed of scoreless interviews with subjects seated in front of black curtains and captured in medium range.

— Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of somber

Adjective

On top of the moving-camera-foamy-dark-mouth challenge, there was the plaque challenge.

— Jenny Bailly, Allure, 1 Sep. 2026
Finley’s breakout was the 2017 dark comedy Thoroughbreds, in which Olivia Cooke and Anya Taylor-Joy play high-schoolers conspiring to kill an abusive stepfather.

— Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of dark

Adjective

Exploring Indonesia—an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands—over more than a decade has led me to some truly jaw-dropping beaches, some gloriously desolate, others vibrantly alive with international travelers, expats, and locals.

— Kathryn Romeyn, Travel + Leisure, 26 Aug. 2026
Noisemaker feels a genuine kinship with the Gallico story, including its setting, a desolate stretch of coastline in eastern England.

— Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of desolate

Adjective

Antidepressants, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs such as Celexa, Prozac and Zoloft, target a range of depressive and anxiety disorders.

— Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026
Up to a certain point, social media use didn't pop as a big predictor for depressive feelings.

— Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of depressive

Adjective

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner made a solemn pledge to never stop trying.

— Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026
Both are powerful spots of natural beauty and deep cultural significance, but for a less solemn outing, the little islet of Ojima sits neatly between the two.

— Jessica Kozuka, Travel + Leisure, 2 Aug. 2026

Definition of solemn

Browse Nearby Words

cheerleaders

cheerless

cheerlessly

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“Cheerless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cheerless. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of cheerless

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