cheerless

American  

[cheer-lis] / ˈtʃɪər lɪs /

adjective

1. without cheer; joyless; gloomy.

   drab, cheerless surroundings.

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cheerless British  

/ ˈtʃɪəlɪs /

adjective

1. dreary, gloomy, or pessimistic

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Other Word Forms

• cheerlessly adverb
• cheerlessness noun

Etymology

Origin of cheerless

First recorded in 1570–80; cheer + -less

Example Sentences

But in the camp's cheerless food market we met women who pointed out that their children are guilty of nothing and pleaded for them to have a normal life.

From BBC • Jan. 29, 2026

Our beginning-of-the-year customs go hand in hand with its bleakness as we choose to make ourselves more cheerless by abstaining from things we enjoy, while pushing ourselves towards the more mundane and less exciting.

From Salon • Jan. 29, 2025

“It’s nothing fancy,” the employer says, clearly believing otherwise, as the nanny’s smile fades in the gray, cheerless light.

From New York Times • Nov. 22, 2022

In 2016, Colburn — the community music school, conservatory, academy and dance school — bought a cheerless outdoor parking lot on the corner of 2nd and Olive streets downtown for $33 million.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2022

The back corridor, which serves as a sort of backbone to the staff's quarters of Darlington Hall, was always a rather cheerless affair due to the lack of daylight penetrating its considerable length.

From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro