dismal science
Economics or the field of political economy.
[N]ot a "gay science," but a rueful—which finds the secret of this universe in "supply and demand" . . . a dreary, desolate and, indeed, quite abject and distressing one; what we m
dismal
/ˈdɪzməl/
adj 4noun 1
Collocations
4(adj.)
VERBS
be, look | become
ADV
really
The weather this morning was really dismal, so we decided to stay indoors and watch movies.
a bit, fairly, pretty, rather
The weather has been rather dismal this week, so we stayed inside most of the time.
Definitions
adj
1
Disastrous, calamitous.
2
Disappointingly inadequate.
He received a dismal compensation.
Liverpool's efforts thereafter had an air of desperation as their dismal 2012 league form continued.
3
Causing despair; gloomy and bleak.
The storm made for a dismal weekend
4
Depressing, dreary, cheerless.
She was lost in dismal thoughts of despair
So, after a spell, he decided to make the best of it and shoved us into the front parlor. 'Twas a dismal sort of place, with hair wreaths, and wax fruit, and tin lambrekins, and land knows what all. It looked like a tomb and smelt pretty nigh as musty and dead-and-gone.
noun
1
A dreary swamp in eastern North Carolina or Virginia in the United States.
.[…] the proprietors of all the great unimproved tracts of Swamp lands will form themselves into Drainage Companies, by which method alone can we ever hope to witness the complete reclamation of the dismals of the seaboard. No reasonable doubt can be entertained that the clearing and draining of the lands will produce their usual effects in ameliorating the climate and that the tidal portions of No. Caro- lina may thus[…]
The term "Dismal" requires some clarification. At one time, all large swamps in eastern North Carolina were commonly referred to as "dismals," probably because they were so gloomy, dreary, and dark, and there are a lot of swamps or "dismals" in eastern North Carolina.
Thesaurus
Idioms & Phrases
Example Bank
601
He received a dismal compensation.
Wiktionary02
Liverpool's efforts thereafter had an air of desperation as their dismal 2012 league form continued.
Wiktionary03
The storm made for a dismal weekend
Wiktionary04
.[…] the proprietors of all the great unimproved tracts of Swamp lands will form themselves into Drainage Companies, by which method alone can we ever hope to witness the complete reclamation of the d
Wiktionary05
The term "Dismal" requires some clarification. At one time, all large swamps in eastern North Carolina were commonly referred to as "dismals," probably because they were so gloomy, dreary, and dark, a
Wiktionary06
The rain made the autumn day dismal.
Tatoeba · #26942Usage Notes
i Register
In some senses, dismal is marked as dated, US. Watch for register when choosing this word.
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