“Bleak” means something that feels very hopeless, empty, or cold, with little chance of things getting better.

Core meanings of “bleak”

  • A situation that offers no hope or encouragement, like “a bleak future” or “bleak prospects.”
  • Weather that is cold, unpleasant, and gloomy, like “a bleak winter’s day.”
  • A place that is bare, exposed, and without pleasant features, like “a bleak landscape” or “a bleak concrete building.”

In everyday use, if someone says “things look bleak,” they mean things look very bad and are unlikely to improve.