Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The condition or quality of being gloomy; obscurity; darkness; dismalness; dejection; sullenness.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun State of being gloomy.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The state or condition of being gloomy.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a feeling of melancholy apprehension
  • noun an atmosphere of depression and melancholy
  • noun the quality of excessive mournfulness and uncheerfulness

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Its dark red color; its gloominess, which is partly due to its architectural severity; its four mighty towers -- all combine to cause a feeling of fear, especially on moonlight nights, when the shadows of the towers fall on the water in the moat, which still surrounds the castle as in days of old.

    Lucretia Borgia According to Original Documents and Correspondence of Her Day Ferdinand Gregorovius

  • In his work is nothing to recall the gloominess of the period; he has seen in it nothing but exploits and heroic adventure.

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 6: Fathers of the Church-Gregory XI 1840-1916 1913

  • A "black spell" makes people forsake pleasurable things — "fireside joys" — for the "gloominess" of church service.

    The Peculiar Life of Sundays 2008

  • By this means, when the heavens are filled with clouds, when the earth swims in rain, and all nature wears a lowering countenance, I withdraw myself from these uncomfortable scenes, into the visionary worlds of art; where I meet with shining landscapes, gilded triumphs, beautiful faces, and all those other objects that fill the mind with gay ideas, and disperse that gloominess which is apt to hang upon it in those dark disconsolate seasons.

    Essays and Tales Joseph Addison 1695

  • But everyone agrees that stormy weather adds to the gloominess of the series which was filmed primarily in Vancouver, B.C., not Seattle.

    The Killing's Burning Questions Answered 2011

  • BofA fell 4.2% ahead of its earnings results on Friday, amid general gloominess around the country's largest banks.

    Bank Results Push Down Stocks Jonathan Cheng 2011

  • U.S. stocks jumped Wednesday as investors bounced back from the previous day's gloominess, bidding up stocks in a broad-based rally that lifted all sectors.

    U.S. Stocks Rally Jonathan Cheng 2010

  • Shopping "just takes people's minds off the gloominess."

    Consumer Confidence Tumbles Josh Mitchell 2011

  • All the dark gloominess needs a little bit of a break up in my opinion.

    Green Lantern Cast! Ryan Reynolds is Hal Jordan! « Giant Killer Squid - Film, Comics, News, Reviews and more 2009

  • The gloominess extends to Wall Street, which is suffering a sharp decline in fee-generating muni-bond deals.

    Muni Salesmen Fight Gloom Michael Corkery 2011

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