gloomy

English

Etymology

From gloom +‎ -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian glumig (“dark, gloomy”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɡluːmi/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɡlumi/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːmi

Adjective

gloomy (comparative gloomier, superlative gloomiest)

1. Not very illuminated; dim because of darkness, especially when appearing depressing or frightening.

   Synonyms: dusky, dim, clouded; see also Thesaurus:dark

   The cavern was gloomy.

2. Suffering from gloom; melancholy; dejected.

   Synonyms: bleak, dreary, miserable; see also Thesaurus:cheerless, Thesaurus:sad

   a gloomy temper or countenance

Derived terms

• gloomily
• gloominess
• gloomy goose
• gloomy Gus
• gloomy octopus
• look on the gloomy side
• (the) gloomies

 

Translations

imperfectly illuminated

• Albanian: zymtë (sq), errët (sq)
• Armenian: աղոտ (hy) (aġot), մթին (hy) (mtʻin)
• Belarusian: цёмны (be) (cjómny), змро́чны (zmróčny)
• Bulgarian: тъ́мен (bg) (tǎ́men), мра́чен (bg) (mráčen)
• Catalan: ombriu (ca), ombrívol (ca), llòbrec (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 陰沉／阴沉 (zh) (yīnchén), 陰鬱／阴郁 (zh) (yīnyù)

• Czech: pochmurný (cs), temný (cs)
• Danish: dyster, dunkel (da)
• Dutch: duister (nl), donker (nl)
• Finnish: hämyinen (fi), hämärä (fi), synkkä (fi), pimeä (fi)
• French: lugubre (fr), sombre (fr), terne (fr)
• Galician: escuro (gl), fusco m, celobre m, avesío m, surnego m, lampreo (gl) m
• German: düster (de), finster (de), trübe (de), dunkel (de), trüb (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἐρεμνός (eremnós)

• Hebrew: אפל (he) (afél)
• Hungarian: sötét (hu), homályos (hu)
• Icelandic: þungbúinn
• Irish: doilbhir, duibheagánach
• Italian: tetro (it), uggioso (it)
• Japanese: 薄暗い (ja) (うすぐらい, usugurai)
• Latin: nūbilus
• Macedonian: мра́чен (mráčen), те́мен (témen)
• Maori: taupuru, kaurehu, kōrehurehu, pakarea, pōkēkē, kōrerehu, pōuriuri, hīnakipōuri, kaurehu
• Plautdietsch: dunkel
• Polish: mroczny (pl)
• Portuguese: escuro (pt), obscuro (pt), trevas (pt)
• Russian: мра́чный (ru) (mráčnyj), тёмный (ru) (tjómnyj)
• Scots: drumlie, mirk
• Scottish Gaelic: ciar, doilleir
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: mráčan (sh), támān (sh)

• Slovak: ponurý, pošmúrny, pochmúrny
• Spanish: lóbrego (es), sombrío (es)
• Turkish: kasvetli (tr)
• Ukrainian: те́мний (uk) (témnyj)

affected with, or expressing, gloom; melancholy

• Arabic: كَئِيب (kaʔīb), مُوحِش (mūḥiš)
• Armenian: մռայլ (hy) (mṙayl)
• Belarusian: змро́чны (zmróčny)
• Bulgarian: уни́л (bg) (uníl), меланхоли́чен (bg) (melanholíčen)
• Catalan: ombriu (ca), tètric (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 陰沉／阴沉 (zh) (yīnchén), 陰鬱／阴郁 (zh) (yīnyù)

• Czech: pochmurný (cs), sklíčený
• Dutch: benauwd (nl), melancholisch (nl)
• Esperanto: morna (eo)
• Finnish: synkeä (fi), synkkä (fi), raskasmielinen, surumielinen (fi), kolkko (fi), ankea (fi), iloton (fi)
• French: lugubre (fr), maussade (fr), mélancolique (fr), morne (fr), sombre (fr), terne (fr)
• Georgian: დაღვრემილი (daɣvremili), მოღუშული (moɣušuli), პირქუში (ṗirkuši), გაუხარებელი (gauxarebeli), დამძიმებული (damʒimebuli), სულდამძიმებული (suldamʒimebuli), წარბებშეჭმუხვნილი (c̣arbebšeč̣muxvnili), შუბლშეკრული (šublšeḳruli)
• German: düster (de), dunkel (de), melancholisch (de), betrübt (de), niedergeschlagen (de), deprimiert (de), traurig (de), schwermütig (de), freudlos (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: σκυθρωπός (skuthrōpós)

• Hebrew: קודר (he) (kodér)
• Hungarian: mélabús (hu), melankolikus (hu), rosszkedvű (hu)
• Irish: duairc, gruama
• Italian: cupo (it), lugubre (it)
• Japanese: 陰気な (ja) (いんきな, inki-na)
• Latin: nūbilus
• Lithuanian: niūrus
• Macedonian: мра́чен (mráčen), та́жен (tážen), у́вилен (úvilen), безра́досен (bezrádosen), те́мен (témen), меланхо́личен (melanhóličen)
• Maori: hākerekere, matapōuri, pōkē, pōkēkē, tiwhatiwha, poururu, mōkinokino
• Ottoman Turkish: آجی (acı) (of sounds)
• Portuguese: triste (pt), melancólico (pt), pessimista (pt), lôbrego, lúgubre (pt), sombrio (pt), soturno (pt), tétrico (pt)
• Romanian: lugubru (ro), melancolic (ro), sombru, tern (ro)
• Russian: мра́чный (ru) (mráčnyj), угрю́мый (ru) (ugrjúmyj), хму́рый (ru) (xmúryj), печа́льный (ru) (pečálʹnyj), безотра́дный (ru) (bezotrádnyj), безра́достный (ru) (bezrádostnyj), уны́лый (ru) (unýlyj)
• Scots: dreich
• Scottish Gaelic: gruamach, dubhach
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: mráčan (sh), támān (sh), sumoran (sh)

• Slovak: zasmušilý, skľúčený, pochmúrny
• Slovene: otožen
• Spanish: lóbrego (es), sombrío (es), (rare) oscuro (es), tétrico (es), lúgubre (es)
• Swedish: dyster (sv)
• Ukrainian: похму́рий (poxmúryj), сумни́й (sumnýj)

Noun

gloomy (plural gloomies)

1. (informal) Someone or something that is gloomy or pessimistic.
   • c. 1946–1947, Hans Keller, edited by Christopher Wintle and Alison Garnham, Music and Psychology: From Vienna to London, 1939–52 (The Hans Keller Archive), London: Plumbago Books, published 2003, →ISBN, page 240:

     A word, finally, on how to go about this publicity business. If it should prove difficult to announce casts in the dailies, or at least in the weekly gloomies, it could surely be arranged that information be available, as soon as the casts are settled, at the opera house in question.

   • 2009, Lawrence R. Samuel, “The Matrix, 1995–”, in Future: A Recent History, Austin, Tex.: University of Texas Press, →ISBN, pages 178–179:

     As well, Russians did not use the confusion of Y2K to launch a preemptive nuclear strike against the United States, as Internet "gloomies" had cautioned, now wagging their online tails in Internet chat rooms as "pollies" (Pollyannas) rubbed salt in their paranoid wounds.

   • 2012, Tetman Callis, High Street: A Memoir: Lawyers, Guns & Money in a Stoner’s New Mexico, San Francisco, Calif.: Outpost 19, →ISBN, page 200:

     He lately sports a look known as "Goth," the most outre aspect of which is, in his case, black nail polish. Really serious Goths, who wear black clothing and spectral makeup, are known as "gloomies," or so Owen tells me. He's not one of them.

   • 2020 May 22, Wynter Rose Thorne, “And Then It Happened …”, in The Passions of Rosie, Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, →ISBN:

     Yikes! I was to be alone with the smacker and my non-smiling sister. After all the joy with my two boys in our family, I was to be left alone with the two gloomies. Well, I guess I will have to find something else to keep me busy.

Translations

someone or something that is gloomy

Further reading

• gloomy (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia