Drear"y (drēr"&ybreve;), a. [Compar. Drearier (?); superl. Dreariest.] [OE. dreori, dreri, AS. dreórig, sad; akin to G. traurig, and prob. to AS. dreósan to fall, Goth. driusan. Cf. Dross, Drear, Drizzle, Drowse.] 1. Sorrowful; distressful. [Obs.] " Dreary shrieks." Spenser.

2. Exciting cheerless sensations, feelings, or associations; comfortless; dismal; gloomy. " Dreary shades." Dryden. "The dreary ground." Prior.

Full many a dreary anxious hour.

Johnson entered on his vocation in the most dreary part of that dreary interval which separated two ages of prosperity.

• Drab; dark, colorless, or cheerless.
       It had rained for three days straight, and the dreary weather dragged the townspeople's spirits down.