from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Dreary \Drear"y\ (dr[=e]r"[y^]), a. [Compar. {Drearier}; superl.
{Dreariest}.] [OE. dreori, dreri, AS. dre['o]rig, sad; akin
to G. traurig, and prob. to AS. dre['o]san to fall, Goth.
driusan. Cf. {Dross}, {Drear}, {Drizzle}, {Drowse}.]
1. Sorrowful; distressful. [Obs.] " Dreary shrieks."
--Spenser.
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2. Exciting cheerless sensations, feelings, or associations;
comfortless; dismal; gloomy. " Dreary shades." --Dryden.
"The dreary ground." --Prior.
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Full many a dreary anxious hour. --Keble.
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Johnson entered on his vocation in the most dreary
part of that dreary interval which separated two
ages of prosperity. --Macaulay.
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