New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
Dreary — Drear y (dr[=e]r [y^]), a. [Compar. {Drearier}; superl. {Dreariest}.] [OE. dreori, dreri, AS. dre[ o]rig, sad; akin to G. traurig, and prob. to AS. dre[ o]san to fall, Goth. driusan. Cf. {Dross}, {Drear}, {Drizzle}, {Drowse}.] 1. Sorrowful;… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
dreary — dreary; dun·dreary; … English syllables
dreary — index bleak (severely simple), deplorable, despondent, insipid, jejune (dull), lifeless (dull), lugubri … Law dictionary
dreary — O.E. dreorig sad, sorrowful, originally cruel, bloody, blood stained, from dreor gore, blood, from (ge)dreosan (pp. droren) fall, decline, fail, from W.Gmc. *dreuzas (Cf. O.N. dreyrigr gory, bloody, and more remotely, Ger. traurig sad, sorrowful… … Etymology dictionary
dreary — 1 *dismal, cheerless, dispiriting, bleak, desolate Analogous words: discouraging, disheartening (see DISCOURAGE): barren, *bare: forlorn, hopeless (see DESPONDENT) 2 *dull, humdrum, monotonous, pedestrian, stodgy Analogous words … New Dictionary of Synonyms
dreary — [adj] gloomy, lifeless black, blah, bleak, boring, cheerless, colorless, comfortless, damp, depressing, depressive, dingy, dismal, dispiriting, doleful, downcast, drab, dull, forlorn, funereal, glum, humdrum, joyless, lonely, lonesome, melancholy … New thesaurus
dreary — ► ADJECTIVE (drearier, dreariest) ▪ dull, bleak, and depressing. DERIVATIVES drearily adverb dreariness noun. ORIGIN Old English, «gory, cruel, melancholy» … English terms dictionary
dreary — [drir′ē] adj. drearier, dreariest [ME dreri < OE dreorig, sad, orig., bloody, gory < dreor, blood < base of dreosan, to drip < IE base * dhreu , break off > DRIP, DROWSE] gloomy; cheerless; depressing; dismal; dull drearily adv.… … English World dictionary
dreary — adj. it was very dreary to do the same job every day = it was very dreary doing the same job every day * * * [ drɪərɪ] it was very dreary to do the same job every day = it was very dreary doing the same job every day … Combinatory dictionary
dreary — [[t]drɪ͟əri[/t]] drearier, dreariest ADJ GRADED If you describe something as dreary, you mean that it is dull and depressing. ...a dreary little town in the Midwest... They live such dreary lives. Syn: dismal Derived words: drearily ADV GRADED… … English dictionary
dreary — adjective 1) the dreary hours spent in a jail cell Syn: dull, drab, uninteresting, flat, tedious, wearisome, boring, unexciting, unstimulating, uninspiring, soul destroying; humdrum, monotonous, uneventful, unremarkable, featureless … Thesaurus of popular words
