- [uncountable, singular] a feeling of being sad and without hope synonym depression
- The gloom deepened as the election results came in.
- He remained sunk in gloom for several days.
- An air of gloom and despondency settled over the household.
Extra ExamplesTopics Feelingsc1- He was sunk in deep gloom at the prospect of being alone.
- I sank into gloom and depression.
- Rumours of his ill health cast gloom over the celebrations.
- She felt gloom descend on her shoulders.
- She was in a deep gloom because not even a postcard had arrived from Ricky.
- The nation was deep in gloom.
- The news filled me with gloom.
- There is a general gloom about the farming industry.
- When the gloom finally lifts, the pessimists will be surprised at how much has been going right.
- efforts to dispel their gloom
- the darkest feelings of gloom and despondency
- the general economic gloom
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- deep
- general
- economic
- …
- be filled with
- be sunk in
- sink into
- …
- deepen
- descend
- lift
- …
- in gloom
- gloom about
- doom and gloom
- gloom and despondency
- [uncountable] (literary) almost total darkness
- We watched the boats come back in the gathering gloom.
- Caroline peered into the gloom of the hallway.
Extra Examples- He peered into the gathering gloom.
- She could see the house faintly through the gloom.
- She watched him disappear into the gloom.
- Slowly, my eyes became accustomed to the gloom.
- The fog looked ominous in the evening gloom.
- The sound of distant police whistles pierced the gloom.
- The sun went in and the house was again shrouded in gloom.
- The tram rattled off into the gloom.
- Two figures materialized out of the gloom.
- We lost sight of them in the gloom.
- We sat and watched as the gloom descended.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- deep
- deepening
- descending
- …
- penetrate
- pierce
- adjust to
- …
- deepen
- descend
- in the gloom
- into the gloom
- out of the gloom
- …
Word Originlate Middle English (as a verb): of unknown origin.
Idioms
See gloom in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarydoom and gloom | gloom and doom
- a general feeling of having lost all hope, and of pessimism (= expecting things to go badly)
- Despite the obvious setbacks, it is not all doom and gloom for the England team.
More Like This Rhyming pairs in idiomsRhyming pairs in idioms
pile on the agony/gloom
- (especially British English, informal) to make an unpleasant situation worse
- Bosses piled on the agony with threats of more job losses.
Check pronunciation:
gloom