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Dismal vs Depressing - What's the difference?

dismal | depressing |

As adjectives the difference between dismal and depressing

is that dismal is disappointingly inadequate while depressing is causing depression or sadness.

As a verb depressing is

present participle of lang=en.

dismal

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Disappointingly inadequate.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2012, date=April 22, author=Sam Sheringham, work=BBC Sport
    • , title= Liverpool 0-1 West Brom , passage=Liverpool's efforts thereafter had an air of desperation as their dismal 2012 league form continued.}}
  • Gloomy and bleak.
  • Depressing.
  • *, chapter=12
    • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=So, after a spell, he decided to make the best of it and shoved us into the front parlor. 'Twas a dismal sort of place, with hair wreaths, and wax fruit, and tin lambrekins, and land knows what all. It looked like a tomb and smelt pretty nigh as musty and dead-and-gone.}}

    Usage notes

    * Nouns to which "dismal" is often applied: failure, performance, state, record, place, result, scene, season, year, economy, future, fate, weather, news, condition, history.

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Derived terms

    * dismal science

    depressing

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Causing depression or sadness.
    • The television news was depressing , so rather than start crying I turned it off.

    Synonyms

    * unpleasant

    Verb

    (head)