Bleak
adjective
Without hope or encouragement, discouraging.
The future looks bleak without any job opportunities.
Often appears as...
- bleak future
- bleak outlook
adjective
Bare, desolate, and often windswept.
They were stranded in a bleak desert.
Often appears as...
- bleak landscape
- bleak terrain
adjective
Cold and piercing; raw.
The bleak wind chilled them to the bone.
Often appears as...
- bleak wind
- bleak weather
adjective
Without color; pale or washout.
The room was decorated in bleak shades of gray.
Often appears as...
- bleak color
- bleak shades
adjective
Without hope or encouragement, discouraging.
The future looks bleak without any job opportunities.
Often appears as...
- bleak future
- bleak outlook
adjective
Bare, desolate, and often windswept.
They were stranded in a bleak desert.
Often appears as...
- bleak landscape
- bleak terrain
adjective
Cold and piercing; raw.
The bleak wind chilled them to the bone.
Often appears as...
- bleak wind
- bleak weather
adjective
Without color; pale or washout.
The room was decorated in bleak shades of gray.
Often appears as...
- bleak color
- bleak shades
Definition 1 of 4
Pro Tip 1/2Emotional Impact
The word 'bleak' conveys strong emotions of despair and hopelessness, often in situations or narratives.
After the layoffs, the staff morale was bleak.
Pro Tip 2/2Metaphoric Use
'Bleak' can be used metaphorically to describe abstract concepts like situations or feelings.
After the divorce, her outlook on love was bleak.
Pro Tip 1/2Emotional Impact
The word 'bleak' conveys strong emotions of despair and hopelessness, often in situations or narratives.
After the layoffs, the staff morale was bleak.
Pro Tip 2/2Metaphoric Use
'Bleak' can be used metaphorically to describe abstract concepts like situations or feelings.
After the divorce, her outlook on love was bleak.
Pro Tip 1/2Emotional Impact
The word 'bleak' conveys strong emotions of despair and hopelessness, often in situations or narratives.
After the layoffs, the staff morale was bleak.
Pro Tip 2/2Metaphoric Use
'Bleak' can be used metaphorically to describe abstract concepts like situations or feelings.
After the divorce, her outlook on love was bleak.
Never forget "Bleak"
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Video examples
What makes something...
Yet accompanying the bleakness of Kafka's stories, there's a great deal of humor rooted in the nonsensical logic of the situations described. So on the one hand, it's easy to recognize the Kafkaesque in today's world. We rely on increasingly convoluted systems of administration
Video examples
My plan to help refugees...
for the last few years refugees have troubled past and a bleak future and we - if we don't help them to succeed our future is not going to be bright either if we don't help them to become constructive productive members of the new societies it is going to be
Video examples
Why should you read...
their moral innocence stands in stark contrast to the depravity of those around them, even as their fates grow increasingly intertwined. This bleak portrait of Russian society reflects the author’s own complex life experiences and evolving ideas.
Video examples
What coronavirus means...
have to be effective in getting buying power and production to those who need it around the world. I have one last question, and then I'll be back at the end of the hour, Corey, and it's back to you. So, given how bleak that is,
Video examples
Why I choose humanism...
even when the likely outcome is failure. So as a humanist, I believe we must not despair for humanity. Even in the face of overwhelming difficulties and in the bleakest of circumstances. Human beings are creative beings.
Video examples
Why should you read...
But to describe a novel as Dickensian is typically high praise, as it suggests a story in which true adventure and discovery occur in the most unexpected places. Although he often explored bleak material,
Video examples
Fighting Over Abandoned...
here and survive but for antarctic animals it's like a warm bath compared to conditions above the ice and while the top of the ice is bleak and barren just a few feet down is a busy living world
Video examples
Are we running out of...
Taken together, these bleak statistics raise a startling are we running out of clean water? Well yes, and no. At a planetary scale, Earth can’t run out of freshwater thanks to the water cycle,
Video examples
Hungry Cheetah Cubs Need...
everybody's happy i'm happy chili's happy kittens are happy chilly's risk has paid off she took her kittens on this epic journey and at times it looked really bleak but all five has survived
Video examples
Overview PIPE Exploring...
all-encompassing ocean the source of all life without the ocean earth would be as bleak as barren as Mars or the moon with every drop of water you drink every
Video examples
What makes something...
Yet accompanying the bleakness of Kafka's stories, there's a great deal of humor rooted in the nonsensical logic of the situations described. So on the one hand, it's easy to recognize the Kafkaesque in today's world. We rely on increasingly convoluted systems of administration
Video examples
My plan to help refugees...
for the last few years refugees have troubled past and a bleak future and we - if we don't help them to succeed our future is not going to be bright either if we don't help them to become constructive productive members of the new societies it is going to be
Video examples
Why should you read...
their moral innocence stands in stark contrast to the depravity of those around them, even as their fates grow increasingly intertwined. This bleak portrait of Russian society reflects the author’s own complex life experiences and evolving ideas.
Video examples
What coronavirus means...
have to be effective in getting buying power and production to those who need it around the world. I have one last question, and then I'll be back at the end of the hour, Corey, and it's back to you. So, given how bleak that is,
Video examples
Why I choose humanism...
even when the likely outcome is failure. So as a humanist, I believe we must not despair for humanity. Even in the face of overwhelming difficulties and in the bleakest of circumstances. Human beings are creative beings.
Video examples
Why should you read...
But to describe a novel as Dickensian is typically high praise, as it suggests a story in which true adventure and discovery occur in the most unexpected places. Although he often explored bleak material,
Video examples
Fighting Over Abandoned...
here and survive but for antarctic animals it's like a warm bath compared to conditions above the ice and while the top of the ice is bleak and barren just a few feet down is a busy living world
Video examples
Are we running out of...
Taken together, these bleak statistics raise a startling are we running out of clean water? Well yes, and no. At a planetary scale, Earth can’t run out of freshwater thanks to the water cycle,
Video examples
Hungry Cheetah Cubs Need...
everybody's happy i'm happy chili's happy kittens are happy chilly's risk has paid off she took her kittens on this epic journey and at times it looked really bleak but all five has survived
Video examples
Overview PIPE Exploring...
all-encompassing ocean the source of all life without the ocean earth would be as bleak as barren as Mars or the moon with every drop of water you drink every
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
John Edgar Wideman
American Writer
I feel compelled not to pass on a vision of bleakness, destruction or cynicism. I want to tell the truth as I see it, but I also have to believe that individuals - my kids, your kids, whoever - can do something about it, and I want to show the ways in which they can do something about it.
Quote examples
Ben Fogle
English Writer
I've had enough of the bleak headlines and divisive politics, dark TV dramas and hate-filled social media. I'm embracing a new movement with a slightly ridiculous name and a single mission, to make the world a better place. It's called 'hopepunk'.
Quote examples
J. M. Coetzee
South African Author
Everyone seems to see bleakness and despair in my books. I don't read them that way. I see myself as writing comic books, books about ordinary people trying to live ordinary, dull, happy lives while the world is falling to pieces around them.
Quote examples
John McEnroe
American Tennis Player
When I felt I was rejected by my first wife, and she said, 'Some day you will thank me for this,' you know what? I do. And so, sometimes it is darkest before the dawn. You can think it is bleak and you can't see. You never know.
Quote examples
Kameron Hurley
American Writer
As a science fiction and fantasy writer, I used to love writing bleak, grimdark futures full of bleak, grimdark people. But I've found that as the world around me darkens, all I really want to do is grasp for more light.
Quote examples
Robert Cormier
American Author
Family life was wonderful. The streets were bleak. The playgrounds were bleak. But home was always warm. My mother and father had a great relationship. I always felt 'safe' there.
Quote examples
Paddy Considine
English Actor
I have to believe there's redemption in the darkest of circumstances; otherwise it's too bleak for me.
Quote examples
Margaret MacMillan
Canadian Historian
If we don't take responsibility for each other, it seems to me the future is going to be even bleaker.
Quote examples
Claire Denis
French Director
Sometimes bleak is good. Sometimes bleak is necessary. Some part of life is always bleak.
Quote examples
Marianne Faithfull
British Musician
I have always been attracted to the bleaker aspects of life. I love drama.
Quote examples
John Edgar Wideman
American Writer
I feel compelled not to pass on a vision of bleakness, destruction or cynicism. I want to tell the truth as I see it, but I also have to believe that individuals - my kids, your kids, whoever - can do something about it, and I want to show the ways in which they can do something about it.
Quote examples
Ben Fogle
English Writer
I've had enough of the bleak headlines and divisive politics, dark TV dramas and hate-filled social media. I'm embracing a new movement with a slightly ridiculous name and a single mission, to make the world a better place. It's called 'hopepunk'.
Quote examples
J. M. Coetzee
South African Author
Everyone seems to see bleakness and despair in my books. I don't read them that way. I see myself as writing comic books, books about ordinary people trying to live ordinary, dull, happy lives while the world is falling to pieces around them.
Quote examples
John McEnroe
American Tennis Player
When I felt I was rejected by my first wife, and she said, 'Some day you will thank me for this,' you know what? I do. And so, sometimes it is darkest before the dawn. You can think it is bleak and you can't see. You never know.
Quote examples
Kameron Hurley
American Writer
As a science fiction and fantasy writer, I used to love writing bleak, grimdark futures full of bleak, grimdark people. But I've found that as the world around me darkens, all I really want to do is grasp for more light.
Quote examples
Robert Cormier
American Author
Family life was wonderful. The streets were bleak. The playgrounds were bleak. But home was always warm. My mother and father had a great relationship. I always felt 'safe' there.
Quote examples
Paddy Considine
English Actor
I have to believe there's redemption in the darkest of circumstances; otherwise it's too bleak for me.
Quote examples
Margaret MacMillan
Canadian Historian
If we don't take responsibility for each other, it seems to me the future is going to be even bleaker.
Quote examples
Claire Denis
French Director
Sometimes bleak is good. Sometimes bleak is necessary. Some part of life is always bleak.
Quote examples
Marianne Faithfull
British Musician
I have always been attracted to the bleaker aspects of life. I love drama.
Example 1 of 10
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