bleakness

UK: /ˈbliːknɪs/

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

bleak¹ /blik/   adj., -er, -est. 

1. bare, cold, and uninviting:
   the bleak winter landscape.
2. without hope or encouragement;
   dreary:
   looking at a bleak future.

bleak•ly, adv.: 

stared bleakly out the window.

bleak•ness, n. 

[uncountable] the bleakness of a long, cold winter.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

bleak¹  (blēk), adj., -er, -est. 

1. bare, desolate, and often windswept:
   a bleak plain.
2. cold and piercing;
   raw:
   a bleak wind.
3. without hope or encouragement;
   depressing;
   dreary:
   a bleak future.

• 1300–50; Middle English bleke pale, blend of, blended variants bleche (Old English blǣc) and blake (Old English blāc); both cognate with Old Norse bleikr, German bleich; akin to bleach

bleak′ish, adj. 
bleak′ly, adv. 
bleak′ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 3. See austere. 

bleak²  (blēk), n. 

1. Fish a European freshwater fish, Alburnus alburnus, having scales with a silvery pigment that is used in the production of artificial pearls.

• 1400–50; late Middle English bleke, noun, nominal use of bleke pale; see bleak¹