bleakness : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: bleakness	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for bleakness
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
bleakness n a bleak and desolate atmosphere; "the nakedness of the landscape" Synonym(s): bleakness, desolation, bareness, nakedness
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Bleak \Bleak\, a. [OE. blac, bleyke, bleche, AS. bl[be]c, bl[?]c, pale, wan; akin to Icel. bleikr, Sw. blek, Dan. bleg, OS. bl[?]k, D. bleek, OHG. pleih, G. bleich; all from the root of AS. bl[c6]can to shine; akin to OHG. bl[c6]chen to shine; cf. L. flagrare to burn, Gr. [?] to burn, shine, Skr. bhr[be]j to shine, and E. flame. [?]98. Cf. {Bleach}, {Blink}, {Flame}.] 1. Without color; pale; pallid. [Obs.] When she came out she looked as pale and as bleak as one that were laid out dead. --Foxe. 2. Desolate and exposed; swept by cold winds. Wastes too bleak to rear The common growth of earth, the foodful ear. --Wordsworth. At daybreak, on the bleak sea beach. --Longfellow. 3. Cold and cutting; cheerless; as, a bleak blast. -- {Bleak"ish}, a. -- {Bleak"ly}, adv. -- {Bleak"ness}, n.