dismal

[ diz-muhl ]
/ ˈdɪz məl /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR dismal ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

causing gloom or dejection; gloomy; dreary; cheerless; melancholy: dismal weather.
characterized by ineptness or lack of skill, competence, effectiveness, imagination, or interest; pitiful: Our team played a dismal game.
Obsolete.
  1. disastrous; calamitous.
  2. unlucky; sinister.

noun

Southern U.S. a tract of swampy land, usually along the coast.

Origin of dismal

1275–1325; Middle English dismale unlucky time, dismol day one of two days in each month considered unlucky (hence later taken as adj.) < Anglo-French dis mal < Medieval Latin diēs malī literally, evil days

OTHER WORDS FROM dismal

dis·mal·ly, adverb dis·mal·ness, dis·mal·i·ty, noun

Words nearby dismal

dislocation, dislocation fracture, dislodge, disloyal, disloyalty, dismal, dismal science, dismal swamp, dismantle, dismast, dismay

Words related to dismal

dim, horrid, murky, discouraging, sad, depressing, ghastly, horrible, miserable, dull, disheartening, black, boring, cheerless, cloudy, dark, depressed, desolate, despondent, dingy

Example sentences from the Web for dismal

British Dictionary definitions for dismal

dismal
/ (ˈdɪzməl) /

adjective

causing gloom or depression
causing dismay or terror
of poor quality or a low standard; feeble

Derived forms of dismal

dismally, adverb dismalness, noun

Word Origin for dismal

C13: from dismal (noun) list of 24 unlucky days in the year, from Medieval Latin diēs malī bad days, from Latin diēs day + malus bad