Something that is joyless produces no happiness or pleasure.
[formal]
Life seemed joyless.
Eating in East Berlin used to be a hazardous and joyless experience.
Synonyms: unhappy, sad, depressing, miserable More Synonyms of joyless
joyless in British English
(ˈdʒɔɪlɪs)
adjective
having or producing no joy or pleasure
Derived forms
joylessly (ˈjoylessly)
adverb
joylessness (ˈjoylessness)
noun
joyless in American English
(ˈdʒɔɪlɪs)
adjective
without joy; sad; unhappy
Derived forms
joylessly (ˈjoylessly)
adverb
joylessness (ˈjoylessness)
noun
Examples of 'joyless' in a sentence
joyless
His legacy still looms large: neither woman married; their life of joyless austerity is the one that their father decried.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He meets her friends for nostalgic conversations that lead to joyless affairs.
The Times Literary Supplement (2011)
This game is an utterly joyless experience.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
This made her a great role model, joyful rather than joyless because she was doing what she wanted.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
I don't want a joyless life.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
While it may be clutching at straws, watching England has not been a joyless experience or without glimmers of hope.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Elsewhere on the crowded network, surging passenger numbers and the creaking Victorian engineering make commuting a joyless experience for millions.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
His legacy still looms large: neither woman married although both had opportunities; their life of joyless religious austerity is the one that their father decried.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
(adjective)
Definition
feeling or bringing no joy
His work load had become so enormous that life seemed joyless.
Synonyms
unhappy
Her boss is horrible and she is desperately unhappy.
sad
The loss left me feeling sad and empty.
depressing
the depressing thought of his mother's death
miserable
There was nothing in this miserable place to distract him.
gloomy
He is gloomy about the fate of the economy.
dismal
You can't occupy yourself with dismal thoughts all the time.
dreary
a dreary little town in the Midwest
dejected
Everyone has days when they feel dejected or down.
dispirited
I left feeling utterly dispirited.
downcast
a glum, downcast expression
down in the dumps (informal)
cheerless
They were like a restless, cheerless throng of lost souls.
Additional synonyms
in the sense of cheerless
Definition
dreary or gloomy
They were like a restless, cheerless throng of lost souls.
Synonyms
miserable,
sad,
depressed,
unhappy,
gloomy,
dismal,
melancholy,
forlorn,
sullen,
woeful,
mournful,
dejected,
despondent,
sorrowful,
disconsolate,
joyless,
woebegone,
dolorous
in the sense of dejected
Definition
in low spirits
Everyone has days when they feel dejected or down.
Synonyms
downhearted,
down,
low,
blue,
sad,
depressed,
miserable,
gloomy,
dismal,
melancholy,
glum,
despondent,
downcast,
morose,
disheartened,
wretched,
disconsolate,
crestfallen,
doleful,
down in the dumps (informal),
cast down,
sick as a parrot (informal),
woebegone,
low-spirited
in the sense of depressing
the depressing thought of his mother's death
Synonyms
bleak,
black,
sad,
distressing,
discouraging,
gloomy,
daunting,
hopeless,
dismal,
melancholy,
dreary,
harrowing,
saddening,
sombre,
heartbreaking,
dispiriting,
disheartening,
funereal,
dejecting
Nearby words of
joyless
jowl
joy
joyful
joyless
joyous
jubilant
jubilation
Synonyms of 'joyless'
joyless
Explore 'joyless' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of dismal
Definition
gloomy and depressing
You can't occupy yourself with dismal thoughts all the time.
Synonyms
sad,
gloomy,
melancholy,
black,
dark,
depressing,
discouraging,
bleak,
dreary,
sombre,
forlorn,
despondent,
lugubrious,
sorrowful,
wretched,
funereal,
cheerless,
dolorous
in the sense of dispirited
I left feeling utterly dispirited.
Synonyms
disheartened,
depressed,
discouraged,
down,
low,
sad,
gloomy,
glum,
dejected,
in the doldrums,
despondent,
downcast,
morose,
crestfallen,
sick as a parrot (informal)
in the sense of downcast
Definition
sad and dejected
a glum, downcast expression
Synonyms
dejected,
sad,
depressed,
unhappy,
disappointed,
discouraged,
miserable,
dismayed,
choked,
daunted,
dismal,
despondent,
dispirited,
disheartened,
disconsolate,
crestfallen,
down in the dumps (informal),
cheerless,
sick as a parrot (informal)
in the sense of dreary
Definition
dull or uninteresting
a dreary little town in the Midwest
Synonyms
dismal,
depressing,
bleak,
sad,
lonely,
gloomy,
solitary,
melancholy,
sombre,
forlorn,
glum,
mournful,
lonesome (US, Canadian),
downcast,
sorrowful,
wretched,
joyless,
funereal,
doleful,
cheerless,
drear,
comfortless
in the sense of gloomy
Definition
despairing or sad
He is gloomy about the fate of the economy.
Synonyms
miserable,
down,
sad,
dismal,
low,
blue,
pessimistic,
melancholy,
glum,
dejected,
despondent,
dispirited,
downcast,
joyless,
downhearted,
down in the dumps (informal),
cheerless,
down in the mouth,
in low spirits,
chapfallen,
moody,
sullen,
morose,
crestfallen,
saturnine
in the sense of miserable
Definition
sordid or squalid
There was nothing in this miserable place to distract him.