dreary Definition
dreary (drir′ē)
dreary Related Forms
drear′i·ly adverb
drear′·i·ness noun
dreary Synonyms
dreary Usage Examples
Adjective complement with noun phrase
find: I never found the season so dreary before; but this happy meeting will make us young again.
Modifies a noun
- inaction: She spoke in a soft, then abruptly she went by in dreary inaction.
- suburb: You must make sure you stay close to the center, rather than banished out in the dreary suburbs.
- winter: It was one ray of light in a dreary winter 's afternoon.
- existence: Their pagan religions, at best, offered a dreary, shadowy existence in a dungeon like place.
- afternoon: What a consternation of soul was mine that dreary afternoon!
- weather: It makes such a change from the dreary winter weather!
Modifying Another Word
- rather: A rather dreary building at the best of times.
- somewhat: General Condition: The station is looking somewhat dreary at the moment - a repaint or, even better, rebuild would be nice.
- otherwise: At least the dashboard is well laid out and the yellow clocks are a colorful addition to an otherwise dreary color scheme.
- pretty: His situation in Hollywood, while eminently successful, is pretty dreary.
- so: Winds and rain they sound so dreary Yet thou listens for my feet.
- very: The whole thing looks drab and is very dreary and depressing, without being particularly moving.
Used with adjective complement
- seem: Sarah had lied and rebelled, but she was fun; life had never seemed dreary with her in the house.
- look: General Condition: The station is looking somewhat dreary at the moment - a repaint or, even better, rebuild would be nice.
- become: But running around soon becomes as dreary as running around in real life.
- get: We may use plurals, although this can get dreary after a while.

