I. ˈblēk adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English bleke pale, probably alteration (influenced by Middle English blok pale, from Old English blāc ) of bleche, from Old English blǣc; akin to Old English blāc pale — more at bleach
1. dialect England : lacking color : pale
2. : lacking vegetation : exposed and barren and often windswept
bleak alkali soils
watching the sunset from the bleak crest of the ridge
3. : cold , raw : bitter and chilling
the snow was deep, the wind bleak
on a bleak November evening
4.
a. : lacking in warmth or kindliness : drab , frigid , cheerless , grim
the bleakest woman I ever knew
with the bleak dogmas of election and reprobation put away, with the God of wrath dethroned — V.L.Parrington
b. : lacking likelihood of favorable termination or solution : wholly distressing : depressing
these desires … stand in bleak contradiction to our central proposals — J.R.Oppenheimer
a bleak outlook
bleak facts
c. : lacking petty or softening detail : severely simple : austere
some who have been repelled by the bleak isolation of the mystic's final climb — W.R.Inge
I like bleak thinking, as I like austerity in religion — H.L.Stuart
the brittle, bleak photography … is a lesson in realism — J.P.Lyford
Synonyms: see dismal
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English bleke, probably alteration (influenced by bleke pale) of Old English blǣge — more at blay
: a small European cyprinid river fish ( Alburnus lucidus ) having silvery pigment lining its scales that is used in making artificial pearls — see pearl essence