BLEAK
What does "BLEAK" mean?
Cold, barren, and exposed, or offering little warmth, hope, or comfort.
Meanings
- Bare, windswept, and cheerless, as a landscape or place. The bleak moor stretched to a grey horizon.
- Offering little hope or encouragement; grim. The economic outlook is bleak.
- Cold and raw, as weather. A bleak November wind cut through the square.
Word origin
From Old Norse 'bleikr' ('pale, white') and Old English 'blac' ('pale'), from a Germanic root meaning 'to shine or be pale' — bleakness was first about being washed-out and colorless, not hopeless.
Remember it
BLEAK rhymes with 'weak' and 'leak' — a bleak place is where warmth and hope leak away.
A little poem
Wind, then more of it-
the hill keeps nothing, not snow,
not even a name.
haiku
Wordplay
- The weather forecaster called it bleak; the poet called it work.
What it teaches
Bleak ground hides nothing - which is why it's the easiest place to finally see clearly.
Quick facts
What does BLEAK mean?
Cold, barren, and exposed, or offering little warmth, hope, or comfort.
Is BLEAK a valid word?
Yes — BLEAK is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is BLEAK?
BLEAK has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does BLEAK come from?
From Old Norse 'bleikr' ('pale, white') and Old English 'blac' ('pale'), from a Germanic root meaning 'to shine or be pale' — bleakness was first about being washed-out and colorless, not hopeless.
What can BLEAK teach us?
Bleak ground hides nothing - which is why it's the easiest place to finally see clearly.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.