DREARY (drearier, dreariest)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: drearier    , dreariest   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does dreary mean? 

• DREARY (adjective)
  The adjective DREARY has 2 senses:

1. lacking in liveliness or charm or surprise

2. causing dejection

  Familiarity information: DREARY used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DREARY (adjective)

Comparative: drearier   
Superlative: dreariest   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Lacking in liveliness or charm or surprise

Synonyms:

drab; dreary

Context example:

a series of dreary dinner parties

Similar:

dull (lacking in liveliness or animation)

Derivation:

dreariness (extreme dullness; lacking spirit or interest)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Causing dejection

Synonyms:

blue; dark; dingy; disconsolate; dismal; drab; drear; dreary; gloomy; grim; sorry

Context example:

grim rainy weather

Similar:

cheerless; depressing; uncheerful (causing sad feelings of gloom and inadequacy)

Derivation:

dreariness (extreme dullness; lacking spirit or interest)

 Context examples 

The forenoon was a dreary time, but at noon the solicitor came: Mr. Marquand, of Wholeman, Sons, Marquand & Lidderdale.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

And here I was, with dreary and endless vistas before me of table-setting, potato-peeling, and dish-washing.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

But the opportunity did not present itself, and they pulled into Dawson one dreary afternoon with the great fight still to come.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

I had been writing, in the newspaper and elsewhere, so prosperously, that when my new success was achieved, I considered myself reasonably entitled to escape from the dreary debates.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

I suppose that everyone finds his first independent start in business a dreary experience.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Filled with dreary imaginations, I passed through many beautiful and majestic scenes, but my eyes were fixed and unobserving.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Finding all remonstrance useless, the three comrades hastened on their way, leaving these strange travellers to their dreary task.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He must go the dreary round of his mind again and find out.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

This all sounds dreary, but you’ll feel good after you have wiped your slate clean.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

As he jumped upon the shore he saw before him a beautiful castle but empty and dreary within, for it was enchanted.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)