Skip to main content
uncheerful

uncheerful

5.5
Feeling sad or making a place feel gloomy
  • adjective
  • /ʌnˈtʃɪrfl/
translation icon : triste
  • He saw a tense, uncheerful, and unwitty young woman who, because she loved her work, had just mastered her customary terror and asked for his head.

Examples

  • The atmosphere at the meeting was uncheerful, making everyone feel uneasy.

  • Despite the bright decorations, her expression remained uncheerful throughout the party.

  • The uncheerful news about the weather put a damper on their vacation plans.

Synonyms

depressing
vsuncheerful
219 2.2

Making you feel very sad and that things will not get better

is similar but can mean a quieter, general gloom rather than strong sorrow
dismal
vsuncheerful
62 4.5

Making you feel sad and hopeless

is sad or gloomy without necessarily being intensely hopeless
frowny
vsuncheerful
  • Informal
4 7.0

Having a mouth turned down and looking unhappy

is about internal sadness or gloom, not only facial appearance
unsmiling
vsuncheerful
3 4.0

Having a serious face that looks unfriendly

is about feeling sadness or gloom rather than just neutral expression
doleful
vsuncheerful
3 8.2

Feeling or showing deep sadness

is sad too but can be less formal and less focused on mourning
cheerless
vsuncheerful
2 5.5

Not bright or warm and making people feel sad

is about sadness or gloom rather than just lacking comfort
unmerry
vsuncheerful
1 7.0

Not cheerful or happy

is more about causing or showing sadness rather than simple lack of joy
unmirthful
vsuncheerful
8.2

Not amused or cheerful

is broader, covering sadness and gloomy feeling not only lack of fun

Antonyms

111 1.0

Happy in a way you show with a smile or friendly actions

70 1.0

Feeling or showing great happiness

How Cheerful

cheerful
111 1.0
neutral
24 3.5
uncheerful
5.5
gloomy
29 2.5
depressed
441 3.5
inconsolable
10 7.2

Surface Forms

uncheerful positive
uncheerfuller comparative
uncheerfullest superlative

Morphology

uncheerful = cheerful (transparent) = un + cheer + ful

The negative prefix 'un-' is productively applied to the adjective 'cheerful' to give a straightforward 'not cheerful' meaning.

Etymology

Uncheerful is made from the prefix un- meaning 'not' and cheerful, which means 'full of cheer' or 'happy', like when you 'cheer up'. So, uncheerful means 'not cheerful' or something that makes people feel gloomy.