gloom

CEFRC1

/ɡluːm/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A feeling or appearance of darkness, sadness, or hopelessness.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A depressing, despondent, or melancholic atmosphere.

Examples

  • Those gloom and doom economists aren't worth their salt.

  • When you were a child you feared the gloom.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ɡlum/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. Cloudiness or heaviness of mind; melancholy; aspect of sorrow; low spirits; dullness.

  2. Darkness, dimness, or obscurity.

  3. A drying oven used in gunpowder manufacture.

More examples

In context

  • the gloom of a forest, or of midnight

  • On December 13, Maritime-liveried 66051 powers out of the early morning gloom with three repatriated Class 66s, on the 0809 Dollands Moor Sidings-Scunthorpe Redbourne Siding.

  • A black yew gloom'd the stagnant air.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

A deep blank settled over the forest as the sun set.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English *gloom, *glom, from Old English glōm (“gloaming, twilight, darkness”), from Proto-West Germanic *glōm, from Proto-Germanic *glōmaz (“gleam, shimmer, sheen”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley- (“to gleam, shimmer, glow”). The English word is cognate with Norwegian glom (“transparent membrane”), Scots gloam (“twilight; faint light; dull gleam”).