• adj. 凄涼的，憂郁的；陰沉的，沉悶的
• n. 低落的情緒

來自拉丁語dies mali, 即malicious day. 后用做形容詞，凄涼的，陰沉的。

dismal

dismal: [13] Etymologically, dismal means ‘bad day’. It comes, via Anglo-Norman dis mal, from Latin diēs malī, literally ‘evil days’, a term used to denote the two days in each month which according to ancient superstition were supposed to be unlucky (these days, of set date, were said originally to have been computed by Egyptian astrologers, and were hence also called Egyptian days). The term dismal thus acquired connotations of ‘gloom’ and ‘calamity’. Its earliest adjectival use, somewhat tautologically, was in the phrase dismal day, but in the late 16th century it broadened out considerably in application.

dismal (adj.)

c. 1400, from Anglo-French dismal (mid-13c.), from Old French (li) dis mals "(the) bad days," from Medieval Latin dies mali "evil or unlucky days" (also called dies ?gyptiaci), from Latin dies "days" (see diurnal) + mali, plural of malus "bad" (see mal-).

Through the Middle Ages, calendars marked two days of each month as unlucky, supposedly based on the ancient calculations of Egyptian astrologers (Jan. 1, 25; Feb. 4, 26; March 1, 28; April 10, 20; May 3, 25; June 10, 16; July 13, 22; Aug. 1, 30; Sept. 3, 21; Oct. 3, 22; Nov. 5, 28; Dec. 7, 22). Modern sense of "gloomy, dreary" first recorded in English 1590s, in reference to sounds. Related: Dismally.

1. My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.

我重新找到一個(gè)合適的工作崗位的希望很渺茫。

來自柯林斯例句

2. You can't occupy yourself with dismal thoughts all the time.

不要終日陷在陰郁的思緒中。

來自柯林斯例句

3. It was a dismal failure.

這是個(gè)讓人沮喪的失敗。

來自柯林斯例句

4. The singer gave a dismal performance of some old songs.

那歌手唱了幾首老歌，唱得不怎么樣。

來自《權(quán)威詞典》

5. That is a rather dismal melody.

那是一支相當(dāng)憂郁的歌曲.

來自《簡明英漢詞典》