bleak 1
— bleakish , adj. — bleakly , adv. — bleakness , n.
/bleek/ , adj., bleaker, bleakest .
1. bare, desolate, and often windswept: a bleak plain.
2. cold and piercing; raw: a bleak wind.
3. without hope or encouragement; depressing; dreary: a bleak future.
[ 1300-50; ME bleke pale, b. variants bleche (OE blaec ) and blake (OE blac ); both c. ON bleikr, G bleich; akin to BLEACH ]
Syn. 3. See austere .
bleak 2
/bleek/ , n.
a European freshwater fish, Alburnus alburnus, having scales with a silvery pigment that is used in the production of artificial pearls.
[ 1400-50; late ME bleke, n. use of bleke pale; see BLEAK 1 ]