Printer Friendly
The Free Dictionary
906,263,253 visitors served.
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

dismal

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.04 sec.
dis·mal  (dzml)
adj.
1. Causing gloom or depression; dreary: dismal weather; took a dismal view of the economy.
2. Characterized by ineptitude, dullness, or a lack of merit: a dismal book; a dismal performance on the cello.
3. Obsolete Dreadful; disastrous.
n.
Chiefly South Atlantic U.S. See pocosin. See Regional Note at pocosin.

[Middle English, unlucky days, unlucky, from Anglo-Norman, unlucky days, from Medieval Latin dis mal : Latin dis, pl. of dis, day; see dyeu- in Indo-European roots + Latin mal, pl. of malus, evil; see mel-3 in Indo-European roots.]

dismal·ly adv.
dismal·ness n.

dismal
Adjective
1. gloomy and depressing
2. Informal of poor quality [Medieval Latin dies mali unlucky days]
dismally adv
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Adj.1.dismal - causing dejection; "a blue day"; "the dark days of the war"; "a week of rainy depressing weather"; "a disconsolate winter landscape"; "the first dismal dispiriting days of November"; "a dark gloomy day"; "grim rainy weather"
cheerless, depressing, uncheerful - causing sad feelings of gloom and inadequacy; "the economic outlook is depressing"; "something cheerless about the room"; "a moody and uncheerful person"; "an uncheerful place"

dismal
adjective 1. bad, awful, dreadful, rotten (informal) terrible, poor, dire, duff Brit. (informal) abysmal, frightful, godawful (slang)
adjective 3. gloomy, depressing, dull, dreary, lugubrious, cheerless << OPPOSITE cheerful
Translations
Spanish dismal [ˈdɪzml] adj (= dark) → sombrío (= depressing); triste (= very bad); fatal
French dismal [ˈdɪzml] adj (= gloomy) → lugubre, maussade (= very bad); lamentable
German dismal [ˈdɪzml] adjtrübe, trostlos;
(song, person, mood) → trübsinnig;
(failure) → kläglich

Italian dismal [ˈdɪzml] adjtriste, cupo/a

?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
Add definition
? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
The dismal individual took a dirty roll of paper from his pocket, and turning to Mr.
The Beaver, who happened to hear the remark, Protested, with tears in its eyes, That not even the rapture of hunting the Snark Could atone for that dismal surprise!
I found a dismal letter from him on my arrival here, full of complaints of his wife and sister, and lamentations on the cruelty of his fate.
 
Dictionary/thesaurus browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2008 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.