gloomy

\ˈɡluː.mi\

/\ˈɡluː.mi\/ adj

The verdict

“gloomy” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Maussade : se dit du ciel couvert, du mauvais temps, du paysage assombri, mais non d’une personne ou d’une humeur pour lesquelles on préfèrera sullen.

Corpus desk

Index FR-gloomy · gloomy · French

gloomy · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "G" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for gloomy
PropertyValue
Headwordgloomy
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\ˈɡluː.mi\
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « gloomy » en français

gloomyn'entre pas dans le top 100.000 du français: zone de termes techniques, archaïques ou rares.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

gloomy is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \ˈɡluː.mi\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for gloomy, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

No documented word history exists for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is gloomy, spelled G-L-O-O-M-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Maussade : se dit du ciel couvert, du mauvais temps, du paysage assombri, mais non d’une personne ou d’une humeur pour lesquelles on préfèrera sullen.
  2. 2
    Sombre, glauque.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how gloomy appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The evening after the funeral, my young lady and I were seated in the library; now musing mournfully, one of us despairingly, on our loss; now venturing conjectures as to the gloomy future.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "gloomy"?
"gloomy" is spelled G-L-O-O-M-Y. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈɡluː.mi\.
What does "gloomy" mean?
As an adjective, "gloomy" means: Maussade : se dit du ciel couvert, du mauvais temps, du paysage assombri, mais non d’une personne ou d’une humeur pour lesquelles on préfèrera sullen.
How do you pronounce "gloomy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gloomy" is \ˈɡluː.mi\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "gloomy" come from?
"gloomy" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list