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- pronunciation:
- dIz
m
 l
- features:
- Word Combinations (adjective), Word History, Word Explorer, Word Parts
| part of speech: |
adjective |
| definition 1: |
cheerless or depressing; gloomy.
The room was dismal, with tiny windows, filthy curtains, and gray walls.She complained of the region's dismal climate.Visiting him in the field hospital was a dismal experience.- synonyms:
- cheerless, dreary, gloomy, somber
- antonyms:
- cheerful, convivial, rosy
- similar words:
- black, bleak, dark, disconsolate, drab, funereal, grim, melancholy, miserable, moody, morose, sad, sullen, tenebrous
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| definition 2: |
pitiful, inept, or uninteresting.
His dismal joke was met only with quizzical looks.It was a chore to read such dismal essays.Their efforts resulted in dismal failure.- synonyms:
- awful, miserable, uninteresting
- similar words:
- abysmal, boring, dreadful, inept, inferior, pitiful, terrible, weak
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| related words: |
chill, cloudy, dim, dreary, dull, lugubrious, murky, overcast, vile, wretched |
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| derivations: |
dismally (adv.), dismalness (n.) |
Dismal is from dies male, a Latin phrase that means "evil days." In medieval Britain, two days in each month were marked on the calendar as unlucky days.
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