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joylessness

joylessness

7.5
A feeling of no joy or happiness
  • noun
  • /ˈdʒɔɪləsnəs/
translation icon : tristeza
  • Is there really a value to understanding heartlessness, contempt, joylessness, cruelty, or dysregulated anger?

What passes on this island, this loss of craft and pride, this joylessness, this waste.

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Examples

  • What passes on this island, this loss of craft and pride, this joylessness, this waste.

  • Perhaps what turns you off is the inherent joylessness of orthorexia.

    Blog text (29)
  • It's if you grew up with this, it's like military precision, coldness, joylessness, orderliness, judgement, harshness.

  • The abstinence movement represents a return to those bleak days, a return to repression, joylessness, terror, shame, and subordination.

    Academic text (2004)
  • This almost professional commitment to joylessness reinforces my conviction that Naipaul's sense of homelessness is real enough; it also reinforces my sense that there is a deep connection between his homelessness and what has happened to his writing.

    Academic text (1990)
  • After years of working in a joylessness office environment, she decided it was time to find a more fulfilling job.

  • His joylessness became evident when he refused to join the celebrations at the party.

  • The joylessness of the atmosphere at the meeting made it difficult to generate enthusiasm for the project.

Synonyms

sadness
vsjoylessness
229 1.0

A feeling of being unhappy

points to absence of happiness rather than this active negative feeling
unhappiness
vsjoylessness
42 1.8

A feeling of sadness or not feeling satisfied with life

emphasizes lack of positive feeling rather than active negative emotion
gloominess
vsjoylessness
1 3.4

A feeling of sadness and little hope felt by people or in a place

is about lack of happiness rather than a deep hopeless mood
cheerlessness
vsjoylessness
6.5

A feeling of sadness and no hope

is the absence of pleasure rather than emphasizing lost hope
uncheerfulness
vsjoylessness
7.2

A feeling of gloom and sadness that lowers your mood

is broader in meaning naming a general lack of happiness
glumness
vsjoylessness
6.6

A quiet feeling of sadness and low spirits

refers to a general lack of happiness rather than a brief low mood

Antonyms

970 1.0

A feeling of pleasure and being satisfied

joy
793 1.0

A strong feeling of great happiness

4 1.0

A happy mood that makes you smile and helps others feel good

How Joyful

euphoria
45 6.8
joy
793 1.0
happiness
970 1.0
contentment
26 2.1
unhappiness
42 1.8
joylessness
7.5

Surface Forms

joylessness singular
joylessnesses plural

Morphology

joylessness = joyless (transparent) = joy + less + ness

The noun 'joylessness' is transparently derived from the adjective 'joyless', indicating a state or quality.

Etymology

Joylessness is built from the simple word joy plus the part less, meaning 'without', and the ending -ness, meaning 'a state'. So joylessness literally means 'the state of being without joy', which is why it describes a lack of happiness or cheer.