gloom

gloom — noun

1. the sad feeling that comes when you think a situation is bad and will not get be

1.nounB2
Definition

the sad feeling that comes when you think a situation is bad and will not get better

Example

A deep gloom settled over the family after the funeral.

collocation: gloom settled over [someone/something]

The team's third straight loss filled the players with gloom.

collocation: filled with gloom

Common collocations
  • deep gloom
  • cloud of gloom
  • cast gloom over
  • filled with gloom
  • shake off the gloom
Synonyms
  • sorrow

    sadder and more personal, often tied to a specific loss

  • despair

    stronger; a complete loss of hope

  • melancholy

    gentler and more reflective; implies thoughtful sadness

Antonyms
  • joy

    a feeling of great happiness

  • optimism

    hopefulness about the future

Grammar Patterns

gloom + verb (settle over, fill, lift)

Usage Note

Usually uncountable. Often paired with verbs describing how gloom affects a person or group: 'settle over', 'fill', 'cast', 'shake off'.

Common Mistakes

I feel a gloom today.
I feel gloomy today.
'gloom' as a noun is rarely used with 'a' in everyday speech for personal feelings; the adjective 'gloomy' is more natural.

2. a lack of light that makes it difficult to see things around you

2.nounB1
Definition

a lack of light that makes it difficult to see things around you

Example

Eric could barely make out the path ahead in the gathering gloom of the forest.

collocation: gathering gloom

The streetlights were off, leaving the neighbourhood in total gloom.

collocation: total gloom

Common collocations
  • gathering gloom
  • total gloom
  • push back the gloom
  • wrapped in gloom
  • against the gloom
  • in the gloom
Synonyms
  • darkness

    more general and neutral; less literary than gloom

  • dimness

    less intense than gloom; lighter and easier to see in

  • shadow

    a specific dark area rather than overall lack of light

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

in the gloom

through the gloom

Usage Note

Usually uncountable. Often used with prepositions such as 'in', 'through', 'against'. More literary than the plain word 'darkness' — it suggests a heavy, almost emotional quality to the lack of light.

Idioms

gloom and doom

idiom

a feeling or a prediction that a situation will only get worse

The news report was full of gloom and doom about the economy.

Ilan is tired of friends who only talk gloom and doom.

doom and gloom | gloom and doom

idiom

A feeling that everything is bad and will not improve.

After losing the game, the team was full of doom and gloom.

Is it all gloom and doom for the economy this year?

pile on the agony/gloom

idiom

To make a bad situation even worse.

The teacher piled on the agony by giving extra homework.

Why do you always pile on the gloom when we discuss plans?

gloom — verb

Word family

  • gloomy
    adjectiveB1
  • gloomily
    adverbB2
  • gloominess
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

The noun 'gloom' (SADNESS sense) shares territory with 'sorrow', 'despair', and 'melancholy'. 'Sorrow' usually has a specific cause — a death, a failure, a regret. 'Despair' is more intense: you believe there is no way out. 'Melancholy' is a softer, more thoughtful sadness without a sharp trigger. 'Gloom' sits between these: it is deeper than melancholy but less personal than sorrow, and carries a feeling of pessimism about the future that despair also has, though less extreme. For example: 'The gloom in the office after the layoffs lasted for weeks' — here 'despair' would be too strong and 'melancholy' too gentle. 'Sorrow' would fit if the layoffs were due to a death, but for a general atmosphere of lost hope, 'gloom' is the best choice.

sorrow ↗despair ↗melancholy

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishModern English

The word 'gloom' first appeared in Middle English around the 1300s, originally as a verb meaning 'to look sullen'. Its origin is uncertain, though it may be related to Old English 'glōm' meaning 'twilight' or 'darkness'. By the 1500s it had developed both the sense of sadness and the sense of near-darkness that are still used today. The verb uses are older, while the noun became more common from the 1600s onward.