# gloom

> English word · Noun · IPA /ɡluːm/ · frequency rank #19,352

## Definitions
1. Darkness, dimness, or obscurity.
2. A depressing, despondent, or melancholic atmosphere.
3. Cloudiness or heaviness of mind; melancholy; aspect of sorrow; low spirits; dullness.
4. A drying oven used in gunpowder manufacture.

## Etymology
From Middle English *gloom, *glom, from Old English glōm (“gloaming, twilight, darkness”), from Proto-West Germanic *glōm, from Proto-Germanic *glōmaz (“gleam, shimmer, sheen”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley- (“to gleam, shimmer, glow”). The English word is cognate with Norwegian glom (“transparent membrane”), Scots gloam (“twilight; faint light; dull gleam”).

## Easily confused with
- **goo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gloom-vs-goo)
- **good** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gloom-vs-good)
- **glow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gloom-vs-glow)
- **goon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gloom-vs-goon)
- **goof** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gloom-vs-goof)
- **goop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gloom-vs-goop)
- **glory** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gloom-vs-glory)
- **glove** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gloom-vs-glove)
- **groom** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gloom-vs-groom)
- **gloss** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gloom-vs-gloss)
- **Groot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gloom-vs-groot)
- **glows** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gloom-vs-glows)
- **gloomy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gloom-vs-gloomy)
- **grooms** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gloom-vs-grooms)
- **GLO** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/glo-vs-gloom)
- **glam** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/glam-vs-gloom)
- **globe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/globe-vs-gloom)
- **Glock** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/glock-vs-gloom)
- **gleam** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gleam-vs-gloom)
- **gloat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gloat-vs-gloom)

## Common misspellings (7)
`ggloom`, `glloom`, `glom`, `glomo`, `gloomm`, `golom`, `lgoom`

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