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It's a big con job. We have sold the myth of Dublin as a sexy place incredibly well; because it is a dreary little dump most of the time.
Roddy Doyle

Meaning of "dreary" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD DREARY

Old English drēorig gory; related to Old High German trūreg sad.
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Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.
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PRONUNCIATION OF DREARY

dreary  [ˈdrɪərɪ] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF DREARY

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Dreary is an adjective.
The adjective is the word that accompanies the noun to determine or qualify it.

WHAT DOES DREARY MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Definition of dreary in the English dictionary

The first definition of dreary in the dictionary is sad or dull; dismal. Other definition of dreary is wearying; boring. Dreary is also miserable.


WORDS THAT RHYME WITH DREARY


curriery
ˈkʌrɪərɪ
dearie
ˈdɪərɪ
diary
ˈdaɪərɪ
enquiry
ɪnˈkwaɪərɪ
Erie
ˈɪərɪ
expiry
ɪkˈspaɪərɪ
farriery
ˈfærɪərɪ
fiery
ˈfaɪərɪ
furriery
ˈfʌrɪərɪ
hosiery
ˈhəʊzɪərɪ
inquiry
ɪnˈkwaɪərɪ
judiciary
dʒuːˈdɪʃɪərɪ
lire
ˈlɪərɪ
Neri
ˈnɪərɪ
peri
ˈpɪərɪ
query
ˈkwɪərɪ
siri
ˈsɪərɪ
subsidiary
səbˈsɪdɪərɪ
theory
ˈθɪərɪ
weary
ˈwɪərɪ

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE DREARY

dreamingly
dreamland
dreamless
dreamlessly
dreamlessness
dreamlike
dreamt
Dreamtime
dreamy
drear
drearier
dreariest
drearihead
drearihood
drearily
dreariment
dreariness
drearing
drearisome
dreck

WORDS THAT END LIKE DREARY

alveary
balneary
beweary
bleary
deary
Dunleary
footweary
leary
outweary
overweary
Peary
smeary
speary
sweary
teary
tracheary
travel-weary
unweary
war-weary
world-weary

Synonyms and antonyms of dreary in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «DREARY»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «dreary» and belong to the same grammatical category.
synonyms of dreary

Translation of «dreary» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF DREARY

Find out the translation of dreary to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of dreary from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «dreary» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

沉闷的
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

monótono
570 millions of speakers

English

dreary
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

सुनसान
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

الكئيب
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

тоскливый
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

monótono
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

বিষণ্ণ
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

morne
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Suram
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

trostlos
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

陰鬱な
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

황량한
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Dreary
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

thê lương
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

சாரமில்லாத
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

कंटाळवाणा
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

kasvetli
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

desolato
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

ponury
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

тужливий
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

trist
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

θλιβερό
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

somber
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

trist
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

kjedelig
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of dreary

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «DREARY»

The term «dreary» is quite widely used and occupies the 40.061 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Quite widely used
82
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «dreary» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of dreary
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «dreary».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «DREARY» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «dreary» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «dreary» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about dreary

EXAMPLES

10 QUOTES WITH «DREARY»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word dreary.
1
George Borrow
It has been said that idleness is the parent of mischief, which is very true; but mischief itself is merely an attempt to escape from the dreary vacuum of idleness.
2
Hope Davis
I'm usually called upon to play the dreary suicidal girl.
3
Roddy Doyle
It's a big con job. We have sold the myth of Dublin as a sexy place incredibly well; because it is a dreary little dump most of the time.
4
Ariana Grande
I always knew that St. Jude was an amazing organization but meeting the kids and seeing how the hospital works first hand was truly beautiful. It doesn't feel like a regular hospital all dreary and sad. It's a colorful, beautiful, comfortable, fun place to live and the energy is wonderful.
5
Alex Kapranos
A lot of bands have the enthusiasm kicked out of them by playing really dreary pub venues that just churn bands through.
6
Lawrence G. Lovasik
Nobody needs a smile so much as the one who has none to give. So get used to smiling heart-warming smiles, and you will spread sunshine in a sometimes dreary world.
7
Walter de La Mare
A lost but happy dream may shed its light upon our waking hours, and the whole day may be infected with the gloom of a dreary or sorrowful one; yet of neither may we be able to recover a trace.
8
W. Somerset Maugham
Death is a very dull, dreary affair, and my advice to you is to have nothing whatsoever to do with it.
9
Tom Peters
'In Search of Excellence' - even the title - is a reminder that business isn't dry, dreary, boring, or by the numbers. Life at work can be cool - and work that's cool isn't confined to Tiger Woods, Yo-Yo Ma, or Tom Hanks. It's available to all of us and any of us.
10
Zebulon Pike
With the dreary season in which we travelled part of the route; with our minds much more actively employed in forming resources for our preservation from famine.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «DREARY»

Discover the use of dreary in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to dreary and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Midnight Dreary: The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe
While traveling alone from Richmond, Virginia, to New York City, Poe disappeared for nearly a week.
John Evangelist Walsh, 2000
2
Lost Inside My Dreary Morbid Life
this is a tale about one man losing his identity, losing his mind to regain some insight into this physcial realm of reality .
Chad Stephens, 2012
3
Dreary and Izzy
Another drama from Dora-winning playwright of "The Neighbour's Wife"
Tara Beagan, 2007
4
Dreary Dwellings and Frightful Families
A history of housing includes photographs, illustrations, and real-life accounts of homes and home life of the past.
John Townsend, 2006
5
A Dreary Story
A. Dreary. Story. From. The. Notebook. Of. An. Old. Man. I THERE is in Russia an emeritus Professor Nikolay Stepanovitch, a chevalier and privy councillor; he has so many Russian andforeign decorations that when he has occasion to put ...
Anton Chekhov, 2014
6
Noah Dreary
Perfect for readers 6+ years and to be enjoyed by all.It's an expression we've all heard many times, but talented author/illustrator, Aaron Blabey, takes it to another extreme in this hilarious story about a boy who discovers the very real ...
Aaron Blabey, 2013
7
Dreary & Naughty: Friday the 13th of February
At school, Naughty gets many Valentine's Day cards from her admirers and Dreary gets none, but Naughty soon learns what a gift from the heart looks like.
John LaFleur, Shawn Dubin, 2013
8
The Misadventures of Dreary & Naughty
The son of Death and the daughter of the Devil have trouble fitting in at their new school.
John LaFleur, 2013
9
The lyre: a collection of the most approved Scottish, ...
A master I have, and I am his man, Galloping, dreary, dun, And he'll get a wife as fast as he can, With a haily, gaily, gambo raily, Giggling, niggling, Galloping galloway, draggle tail, dreary, dun. I saddled his steed so fine and so gay, Galloping, ...
Lyre, 1824
10
Book of Virtues
The day is cold, and dark, and dreary; It rains, and the wind is never weary; The vine still clings to the moldering wall, But at every gust the dead leaves fall, And the day is dark and dreary. My life is cold, and dark, and dreary; It rains, and the ...
William J. Bennett, 1993

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «DREARY»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term dreary is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Love rain? Good. Dreary skies continue Wednesday
Rain lovers and sunshine haters rejoice. Dreary skies, showers and the potential for thunderstorms and heavy rain will continue for a third day ... «The Coloradoan, Jul 15»
2
Dreary Wednesday in the Heartland
DU QUOIN, IL (KFVS) -. The bad news? It's not a very nice morning outside. The good news? The week is halfway over! Hopefully this picture ... «KFVS, Jul 15»
3
Emma Watson and Kiernan Shipka star in: 50 actors who should …
What luck, then, that she crosses paths with Princess Pinot (Katy Perry), who finds that she can barely stand another dreary day of being waited ... «A.V. Club DC, Jul 15»
4
MAX HASTINGS pays tribute to the Queen's favourite Land Rover …
... by its Indian owners, Tata, not because demand has collapsed — they still sell 14,000 a year — but because of dreary, mindless regulation. «Daily Mail, Jul 15»
5
Marco Rubio takes a page from Obama's book, literally
Many pundits and media outlets stoke these fears, painting a dreary picture of the future in which automation and outsourcing continue to ... «Fortune, Jul 15»
6
Physics: The impulse of beauty
In the dreary postwar climate of 1919, worldwide headlines greeted the successful verification of one of his key predictions — the bending of ... «Nature.com, Jul 15»
7
The Ashes and Clashes: Memorable anecdotes on and off the field
The beers flowed.” Get back now, Fred IN those days of dreary draws, the first four Tests of the 1953 Ashes in England ended in stalemates. «Mid-Day, Jul 15»
8
How Do You Deal With Shitty Drivers?
As we all spill into our cars to escape our dreary dark heat holes of suburban homes, we quickly discover that every other driver on we ... «Jalopnik, Jul 15»
9
Office with a view: Photos from where you work around Surrey
Where do you work in Surrey? A bright and spacious, modern, open-plan office or a dreary and stifling basement with no windows? Perhaps ... «Get Surrey, Jul 15»
10
Andy Murray books semi-final showdown with Roger Federer after …
And so the game trundled on till the next dreary shower. This time, with no evidence of anything happening to raise the roof on court, they ... «Express.co.uk, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Dreary [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/dreary>. Apr 2024 ».
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