dismal

English

Etymology

From Middle English dismal, dismale, from Anglo-Norman dismal, from Old French (li) dis mals (“(the) bad days”), from Medieval Latin diēs malī (“bad days”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɪzməl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪzməl

Adjective

dismal (comparative more dismal, superlative most dismal)

1. Disastrous, calamitous
2. Disappointingly inadequate.

   He received a dismal compensation.

   • 2012 April 22, Sam Sheringham, “Liverpool 0-1 West Brom”, in BBC Sport:

     Liverpool's efforts thereafter had an air of desperation as their dismal 2012 league form continued.

3. Causing despair; gloomy and bleak.

   The storm made for a dismal weekend

4. Depressing, dreary, cheerless.

   She was lost in dismal thoughts of despair

   • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 12, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:

     So, after a spell, he decided to make the best of it and shoved us into the front parlor. 'Twas a dismal sort of place, with hair wreaths, and wax fruit, and tin lambrekins, and land knows what all. It looked like a tomb and smelt pretty nigh as musty and dead-and-gone.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:cheerless

Derived terms

• dismal Jimmy
• dismal science

Collocations

with nouns

• dismal failure
• dismal performance
• dismal state
• dismal record
• dismal place
• dismal result
• dismal scene
• dismal season
• dismal year
• dismal economy
• dismal future
• dismal fate
• dismal weather
• dismal news
• dismal condition
• dismal history

Translations

disappointingly inadequate

• Czech: neradostný, neuspokojivý
• Finnish: surkea (fi)
• French: lamentable (fr), misérable (fr)
• German: unzureichend (de), unzulänglich (de), jämmerlich (de), kläglich (de), miserabel (de)
• Hungarian: elszomorító (hu), sikertelen (hu)
• Portuguese: inadequado (pt)
• Romanian: dezamagitor de inadecvat
• Spanish: mísero (es), miserable (es), triste (es)
• Turkish: berbat (tr)

gloomy and bleak

• Bulgarian: мра́чен (bg) (mráčen)
• Czech: chmurný, neradostný
• Dutch: akelig (nl)
• Finnish: synkkä (fi), surullinen (fi), ankea (fi)
• French: morne (fr), lugubre (fr)
• German: traurig (de), trübe (de), trostlos (de), freudlos (de), düster (de), finster (de), trist (de), trüb (de), fade (de), fad (de), trübselig (de), trübsinnig (de)
• Hungarian: szomorú (hu), sötét (hu), bús (hu)
• Korean: 음침하다 (eumchimhada)
• Latin: funestus
• Maori: poururu
• Norwegian: stusslig (no)
• Ottoman Turkish: آجی‎ (acı) (of sounds)
• Portuguese: sombrio (pt)
• Russian: мра́чный (ru) (mráčnyj), угрю́мый (ru) (ugrjúmyj), уны́лый (ru) (unýlyj)
• Spanish: triste (es)
• Turkish: kasvetli (tr) (e.g of weather)

depressing

• Bulgarian: тъ́жен (bg) (tǎ́žen), уни́л (bg) (uníl)
• Czech: deprimující, depresivní, chmurný
• Finnish: surullinen (fi), synkeä (fi), synkkä (fi)
• French: déprimant (fr)
• German: unglücklich (de), deprimiert (de), deprimierend (de), traurig (de), trostlos (de), freudlos (de), düster (de), finster (de), trist (de), trübselig (de), trübsinnig (de)
• Hebrew: מדכא‎ (he) m (medake)
• Hungarian: szomorú (hu), lehangoló (hu), gyászos (hu), komor (hu), vigasztalan (hu)
• Ottoman Turkish: آجی‎ (acı) (of sounds)
• Romanian: deprimant (ro)
• Russian: гнету́щий (ru) (gnetúščij), уны́лый (ru) (unýlyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: brònach
• Spanish: deprimente

Anagrams

• almids