joyless
Devoid of pleasure
Joyless describes something devoid of joy or pleasure—grim, cheerless, without delight.
A joyless marriage offers no happiness to either partner.
A joyless task is drudgery.
The word can describe people who seem incapable of experiencing pleasure: He was a joyless man who never laughed.
Unlike sad, joyless suggests a chronic absence rather than active unhappiness.
Devoid of mirth
- mirthlessLacking genuine amusement
- gloomyDark and dispiriting
- drearyDull and depressing
- dismalDepressingly dark or dull
somber · funereal · sepulchral · lugubrious · melancholic · doleful · elegiac · mournful
Emotionally low
- unhappyExperiencing sorrow or displeasure
- dejectedLow in spirits
- downcastSad or despondent
- crestfallenSad from disappointment
dispirited · despondent · disconsolate · woeful · heartsick · heavy-hearted · grief-stricken · bereaved
Holding nothing inside
- vacantWithout an occupant
- soullessLacking spirit or feeling
- spiritlessLacking energy or enthusiasm
- lifelessDevoid of animation
colorless · dull · flat · stale · vapid · insipid · bland · uninspiring
Boring through length
- boringFailing to engage interest
- drabDull and cheerless
- humdrumLacking variety or excitement
- drearyDull and depressing
repetitive · routine · unvarying · mechanical · robotic · plodding · wearisome · tiresome
Not showing amusement
- sternStrict or ship's aft
- severeExtremely harsh or strict
- dourSternly gloomy
- forbiddingIntimidatingly stern or hostile
austere · grave · sober · solemn · staid · humorless · unamused · stony
Lacking physical sensation
- indifferentLacking interest or concern
- detachedApart or uninvolved
- dispassionateFree from emotional involvement
- unfeelingWithout compassion or emotion
emotionless · impassive · phlegmatic · listless · lackluster · disengaged · unmoved · unresponsive
cheerless
Devoid of mirth
dismal · somber · funereal · sepulchral · lugubrious · melancholic · doleful · elegiac · mournful · sorrowful
sad
Emotionally low
crestfallen · dispirited · despondent · disconsolate · woeful · heartsick · heavy-hearted · grief-stricken · bereaved · mourning
empty
Holding nothing inside
- vacantWithout an occupant
- soullessLacking spirit or feeling
- spiritlessLacking energy or enthusiasm
lifeless · colorless · dull · flat · stale · vapid · insipid · bland · uninspiring · unfulfilling
tedious
Boring through length
dreary · repetitive · routine · unvarying · mechanical · robotic · plodding · wearisome · tiresome · unstimulating
unsmiling
Not showing amusement
forbidding · austere · grave · sober · solemn · staid · humorless · unamused · stony · stoic
numb
Lacking physical sensation
- indifferentLacking interest or concern
- detachedApart or uninvolved
- dispassionateFree from emotional involvement
unfeeling · emotionless · impassive · phlegmatic · listless · lackluster · disengaged · unmoved · unresponsive · deadened
- sombergloomy, bleak, dreary, dismal, melancholy
- despairdespair, hopelessness, desolation, despondency, dejection
- sadnesssad, unhappy, grief, sorrowful, heartbroken