dreary

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word dreary. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word dreary, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say dreary in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word dreary you have here. The definition of the word dreary will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofdreary, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

Etymology

From Middle English drery, from Old English drēoriġ (“sad”), from Proto-Germanic *dreuzagaz (“bloody”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrews- (“to break, break off, crumble”), equivalent to drear +‎ -y. Cognate with Dutch treurig (“sad, gloomy”), Low German trurig (“sad”), German traurig (“sad, sorrowful, mournful”), Old Norse dreyrigr (“bloody”). Related to Old English drēor (“blood, falling blood”), Old English drysmian (“to become gloomy”).

Pronunciation

Adjective

dreary (comparative drearier or more dreary, superlative dreariest or most dreary)

  1. Drab; dark, colorless, or cheerless.
    It had rained for three days straight, and the dreary weather dragged the townspeople's spirits down.
    Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary...
    • 1818, Mary Shelley, chapter V, in Frankenstein, volume 1:
      It was on a dreary night of November, that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils.
  2. (obsolete) Grievous, dire; appalling.

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia