# dismal

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈdɪzməl/ · frequency rank #20,612

## Definitions
1. Disastrous, calamitous.
2. Disappointingly inadequate.
3. Causing despair; gloomy and bleak.
4. Depressing, dreary, cheerless.

## Etymology
From Middle English dismal, dismale, from Anglo-Norman dismal, from Old French (li) dis mals (“(the) bad days”), from Medieval Latin diēs malī (“bad days”).

## Easily confused with
- **distal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dismal-vs-distal)
- **dismay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dismal-vs-dismay)
- **dispel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dismal-vs-dispel)
- **dial** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dial-vs-dismal)
- **dermal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dermal-vs-dismal)

## Common misspellings (9)
`ddismal`, `dimsal`, `disaml`, `dismall`, `dismla`, `dismmal`, `dissmal`, `dsimal`, `idsmal`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/dismal