Dreary means dull, bleak, and depressing in a way that drains your energy and dampens your spirits. A dreary day might be gray, cold, and rainy, with dark clouds that make everything feel gloomy. A dreary room might have bare walls, dim lighting, and no color or life to it.

The word captures a feeling that's heavy and oppressive, like something weighing you down. A dreary task is one that feels endless and joyless, like copying the same sentence one hundred times as punishment. A dreary landscape might stretch on with nothing but flat, colorless ground as far as you can see.

Dreary describes weather, places, or situations that make you feel hopeless or worn out. You might face a dreary winter with week after week of cloudy skies, or endure a dreary lecture that goes on and on without anything interesting happening. When something is dreary, it can make you feel tired and sad, like all the brightness has been sucked out of the world.