bleak /bliːk/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old Norse ; Origin: bleikr 'pale, white' ]
1 . without anything to make you feel happy or hopeful
a bleak future/prospect
The company still hopes to find a buyer, but the future looks bleak.
2 . cold and without any pleasant or comfortable features:
a bleak January afternoon
The landscape was bleak.
—bleakly adverb
—bleakness noun [uncountable]