Lacking cheer, brightness, or hope; sad, gloomy, or depressing.
From 'cheer' plus the suffix '-less' meaning 'without.' The '-less' suffix is ancient and creates adjectives describing the absence of something, opposites of '-full' or '-ful.'
The suffix '-less' is interesting because it often sounds more negative and permanent than just saying 'not cheerful'—a 'cheerless room' feels darker than a 'room without cheer,' showing how word structure shapes emotion.
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