sunless

adjective

ˈsən-ləs How to pronounce sunless (audio)
Definition of sunlessnext
as in dark
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer mental patients who were once condemned to spend their lives in the sunless confines of a state asylum

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 sunless To avoid a rash, reduce other risks of tanning, and protect your overall skin health, consider switching to a sunless self-tanner. — Carrie Madormo, Health, 24 Oct. 2025 Earth’s substantial atmosphere and geomagnetic field block most (but not all) of this bombardment, and the sunless interiors of worlds without these properties still get protection from overlying material. — Emma R. Hasson, Scientific American, 17 Aug. 2025 As a safer alternative, many people opt for sunless tanning methods such as fake tan products or sprays. — Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 June 2025 The setting is oppressive — cramped, sunless rooms in which workers push out pant after pant, shirt after shirt, vest after vest — but Wang’s gaze is never pitiful or exploitative. — Devika Girish, New York Times, 2 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for sunless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sunless
  1. dark
  2. bleak
  3. lonely
  4. desolate
  5. depressive
  6. depressing
  7. somber
  8. gray
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
  • 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
  • This generation is lonelier, more anxious and more depressed than any before it.
    — Tom Suozzi, Chicago Tribune, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Those who reported feeling lonely had a 14% higher risk of dying early than those who did not.
    — Amen Galinato, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of lonely
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
  • Climate change, depressing and overwhelming, falls into that category.
    — Peter Prengaman, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Keegan’s first decision at Newcastle as manager in 1992 was to fumigate the depressing training ground.
    — Michael Walker, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of depressing
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
  • The above style is an absolute staple, and the mid-blue wash goes with everything—I’m already picturing it with a gray cashmere sweater.
    — Annie Blackman, InStyle, 29 Aug. 2026
  • The Dessens of every dimension — and all the other major characters, for that matter — are not the most colorful bunch, and the sober tone of the early episodes, such as the slate-gray Chicago winters, could have an unwelcome heaviness.
    — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of gray

Browse Nearby Words

sun lamps
sunless
sunlight
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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

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