gloom

[ gloom ]

noun

1. total or partial darkness; dimness.

   Synonyms: obscurity, shadow, shade

   Antonyms: brightness

2. a state of melancholy or depression; low spirits.

   Synonyms: sadness, despondency, dejection

   Antonyms: cheerful

3. a despondent or depressed look or expression.

verb (used without object)

1. to appear or become dark, dim, or somber.
2. to look sad, dismal, or dejected; frown.

verb (used with object)

1. to fill with gloom; make gloomy or sad; sadden.
2. to make dark or somber.

gloom

/ ɡluːm /

noun

1. partial or total darkness
2. a state of depression or melancholy
3. an appearance or expression of despondency or melancholy
4. poetic.
   a dim or dark place

verb

1. intr to look sullen or depressed
2. to make or become dark or gloomy

Derived Forms

• ˈgloomfully, adverb
• ˈgloomful, adjective
• ˈgloomless, adjective

Other Words From

• gloomful adjective
• gloomful·ly adverb
• gloomless adjective
• outgloom verb (used with object)
• under·gloom noun
• un·gloom verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of gloom¹

1300–50; Middle English gloumben, glomen to frown, perhaps representing Old English *glūmian (akin to early German gläumen to make turbid); glum

Word History and Origins

Origin of gloom¹

C14 gloumben to look sullen; related to Norwegian dialect glome to eye suspiciously

Example Sentences

Away from this gloom and doom, stockbrokers in India have raked in millions during the pandemic.

From Quartz

In this atmosphere of gloom and despair, much help has come from individuals who have shown extraordinary courage and come up with solutions to tackle the crisis.

From Quartz

There is much more understanding about the importance of flexibility at work as a result of the pandemic too, so it’s not all doom and gloom.

From Digiday

There’s Trent Williams, the star left tackle and one of the faces of Washington’s franchise in the 2010s whose refusal to play after a botched cancer diagnosis enveloped the team in a fog of gloom for all of last year.

From Washington Post

A similar story played out for Sanjeeta Bhattacharya, a Delhi-based musician, whose songwriting emerged out of the loneliness and gloom of the pandemic.

From Quartz

They peered out into the gloom from Battery Park and could not make out her form.

From The Daily Beast

He is rather drawn to figures in pain, to the primordial, and to gloom.

From The Daily Beast

In the gloom the flash of missiles impacting in the distance heartened them.

From The Daily Beast

To add to the gloom, several high-profile Ebola cases have occurred in health-care workers treating patients with the disease.

From The Daily Beast

Hockney released the landscape from eternal gloom and flooded it with light.

From The Daily Beast

As his eye became accustomed to the gloom, David Arden saw traces of gilding on the walls.

From Project Gutenberg

She saw his back for an instant against the pale gloom of the garden, in which vapour was curling.

From Project Gutenberg

He spoke Urdu exceedingly well, and it was difficult in the gloom to recognize him as a European.

From Project Gutenberg

Once more these huge explosions unloading their cargoes of midnight on to the evening gloom.

From Project Gutenberg

He may be considered as one of the learned few whose genius dissipated the gloom of the 8th century.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• anguish
• bitterness
• despair
• discouragement
• doldrums
• foreboding
• grief
• horror
• malaise
• misery
• pessimism
• sadness
• sorrow
• weariness
• woe