bleak

Related to bleak: dismal, Bleak House

look bleak

To seem or appear very unfavorable or utterly hopeless; to seem grim or bleak. Whenever things start to look bleak in life, my children always make me feel immensely better. After reviewing the fourth quarter financials, things are looking pretty bleak for the company.
See also: bleak, look

paint a (some kind of) picture of (something)

To give an elaborate or detailed description of something that portrays it in a specific way. The board meeting painted a pretty grim picture of the company's future. Jonathan always paints an idyllic picture of our childhood, glossing over the bad memories of our father.
See also: kind, of, paint, picture
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • look bleak
  • look black
  • keep hope alive
  • grass is always greener on the other side, the
  • the grass is always greener
  • the grass is always greener (on the other side)
  • The grass is always greener on the other side
  • the grass is greener on the other side
  • a bad rap
  • in the cart
References in periodicals archive
Unite Scottish secretary Pat Rafferty said: "The message from our members and other offshore workers in this survey is clear - unless the Government starts to come up with new thinking for the oil and gas industry, the future is looking very bleak.
Quarter of workers fear for oil industry
He said that almost 55-60 percent of the patients who were following the checkup had bleak chances to recover eyesight in their one eye, KMS reported.
60pc of patients in Held Kashmir have bleak chances to regain eyesight
One of the more relatively recent arrivals in the Iberian Peninsula is the bleak Alburnus alburnus (L., 1758), a cyprinid species native to most of Europe, from the Pyrenees to the Urals.
Inter-population plasticity in growth and reproduction of invasive bleak, Alburnus alburnus (Cyprinidae, Actinopterygii), in northeastern Iberian Peninsula
Ben Franklin, head of economics of an ageing society at ILC-UK, said: "The future for adult social care looks bleak. The social care settlement will be insufficient to meet the growing care needs of an ageing population and does little more than paper over the cracks which many of those who are in need of care are already falling through."
Future of adult social care is bleak, says think-tank
However, this structure actually functions perfectly: it arises from and responds to key facets of the programme, and ultimately situates Bleak House within its specific adaptive, televisual, cultural and critical contexts.
Christine Geraghty, Bleak House
Atheists have a bleak view of life THE atheist has a very bleak outlook on life and we should be aware of it.
Atheists have a bleak view [...]
She has produced a bleak and uncompromising vision of the near future; not another dystopian fantasy but a grim and all too realistic portrayal of societal breakdown and individual suffering.
Carthew, Natasha: Winter Damage
There was no sign of an upturn after retailers were hit by bleak weather in March and a subdued performance over Easter, CBI figures showed.
High street still under pressure
Announcing the decision Bank governor Gill Marcus painted a bleak picture for the economy, the biggest in Africa.
SOUTH AFRICA CENTRAL BANK HOLDS RATES DESPITE SLOW GROWTH
Snow was falling and a bitter wind was sweeping across the bleak expanse of Emley Moor.
Getting through in 1947 and 1949
SCROOGE was haunted by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, but there was a much scarier spirit lurking in the shadows of The Bleak Old Shop Of Stuff...
TellyView
MANY high streets are facing a "bleak" future after shopper numbers fell despite the January sales, a report warned today.
Sales fail to pull in any more shoppers
JOB prospects in parts of the UK were looking "increasingly bleak", with evidence of a return to the North-South divide, according to a new report today.
North-South divide returns
The Victorian novelist spent most of his summers at Bleak House, a Grade-II listed building in the southern English town of Broadstairs.
Charles Dickens' 'Bleak House' in the market for A[pounds sterling]2M
Summary: LONDON - Britain faces a "bleak time" over the next two years due to low economic growth, the Bank of England's chief economist said on Saturday.
Bleak years ahead for UK