cheerless

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But in the camp's cheerless food market we met women who pointed out that their children are guilty of nothing and pleaded for them to have a normal life.

From BBC • Jan. 29, 2026

Our beginning-of-the-year customs go hand in hand with its bleakness as we choose to make ourselves more cheerless by abstaining from things we enjoy, while pushing ourselves towards the more mundane and less exciting.

From Salon • Jan. 29, 2025

“It’s nothing fancy,” the employer says, clearly believing otherwise, as the nanny’s smile fades in the gray, cheerless light.

From New York Times • Nov. 22, 2022

Decrying what he defined as “the tyranny of needs,” Francis said: “Let us not give apathy and resignation the power to drive us into a cheerless and banal existence.”

From Seattle Times • Jan. 6, 2022

Another time I heard the frail scratching cry of a newborn baby and Edmond seemed tired and cheerless and disappeared before I could find out what had happened.

From "How I Live Now" by Meg Rosoff