gloom

C2+ Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /ɡlum/ UK /ɡluːm/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
partial darkness or a feeling of deep sadness and despondency

A heavy gloom settled over the abandoned house as evening fell.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · partial darkness or a... darkness murk dimness melancholy despondency dejection sadness

Opposites

brightness light cheer joy

Word family

Forms glooming

Derived forms gloomy gloominess gloomily

Related forms glum

Etymology

From Middle English gloumen ('to look sullen, become dark'), of uncertain origin, perhaps from a Scandinavian source; related to glum.

gloumen Middle English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings

External links

# gloom

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ɡlum/
**IPA (UK):** /ɡluːm/

## Meanings
1. partial darkness or a feeling of deep sadness and despondency

## Examples
- A heavy gloom settled over the abandoned house as evening fell.

## Synonyms
- darkness
- murk
- dimness
- melancholy
- despondency
- dejection
- sadness

## Antonyms
- brightness
- light
- cheer
- joy

## Derived Forms
- gloomy
- gloominess
- gloomily

## Related Forms
- glum

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: gloumen

## Etymology
From Middle English gloumen ('to look sullen, become dark'), of uncertain origin, perhaps from a Scandinavian source; related to glum.

## AI Etymology
Gloom is from Middle English gloumen ('to look sullen, become dark'), of uncertain origin, perhaps from a Scandinavian source; related to glum. Important recorded forms include gloumen (Middle English). Its deeper history remains uncertain, with proposed links left as possibilities rather than a single settled derivation. The current sense covers partial darkness or a feeling of deep sadness and despondency. The wider family includes derived forms such as gloomy, gloominess, and gloomily and related words such as glum.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings

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