miserablism
Wallowing in despair
Miserablism is a tendency to dwell on or cultivate unhappiness, gloom, and pessimism—often as an aesthetic or philosophical stance.
The term can describe art, music, or literature that wallows in bleakness: Critics accused the film of miserablism rather than genuine tragedy.
It sometimes carries an accusation of performative or self-indulgent suffering: His constant miserablism exhausted everyone around him.
Subdued, lasting sadness
- sorrowDeep emotional distress
- despondencyProfound loss of hope
- woeGreat sorrow or distress
- heartacheDeep emotional distress
gloominess · moroseness · forlornness · heaviness · sadness · tristesse · mournfulness · desolation
Expecting unfavorable outcomes
- nihilismRejection of objective meaning
- fatalismDoctrine of inevitable outcomes
- defeatismAcceptance of inevitable failure
- cynicismDistrust of human sincerity
skepticism · disillusionment · world-weariness · existentialism · Schopenhauer · determinism · absurdism · negativity
Quality of being dreary
- gloomPervasive dimness or dejection
- grimnessStern, forbidding quality
- drearinessState of dispiriting dullness
- sombernessGrave, serious quality
starkness · dystopia · noir · brutalism · grey · monochrome · minimalism · austerity
- Joy DivisionInfluential late-70s Manchester group
- post-punkExperimental rock after '77
- shoegazeDistortion-heavy ethereal rock
- RadioheadBritish art rock band
goth · darkwave · Leonard Cohen · Nick Cave · Portishead · dirge · downbeat · angst
melancholy
Subdued, lasting sadness
- sorrowDeep emotional distress
- despondencyProfound loss of hope
- woeGreat sorrow or distress
heartache · gloominess · moroseness · forlornness · heaviness · sadness · tristesse · mournfulness · desolation · suffering
pessimism
Expecting unfavorable outcomes
- nihilismRejection of objective meaning
- fatalismDoctrine of inevitable outcomes
- defeatismAcceptance of inevitable failure
cynicism · skepticism · disillusionment · world-weariness · existentialism · Schopenhauer · determinism · absurdism · negativity · hopelessness
bleakness
Quality of being dreary
- gloomPervasive dimness or dejection
- grimnessStern, forbidding quality
- drearinessState of dispiriting dullness
somberness · starkness · dystopia · noir · brutalism · grey · monochrome · minimalism · austerity · coldness
Morrissey
- Joy DivisionInfluential late-70s Manchester group
- post-punkExperimental rock after '77
- shoegazeDistortion-heavy ethereal rock
Radiohead · goth · darkwave · Leonard Cohen · Nick Cave · Portishead · dirge · downbeat · angst
miserablismoptimism
Tendency to expect good
positivity · resilience · cheerfulness · hopefulness · buoyancy
miserablismtriumphalism
Smug glorification of victory
feel-good · uplift · happy-clappy · saccharine · sentimentalism