joylessEnglishOxford American Thesaurusjoyless adjective 1 a narrow-minded, joyless man: gloomy, melancholy, morose, lugubrious, glum, somber, saturnine, sullen, dour, mirthless, humorless; unhappy, sad, miserable, depressed, despondent, sunk in gloom, heavy-hearted, doleful, downcast, dejected, dispirited. ▷antonyms cheerful, fun-loving. 2 a joyless room filled with yellowing oil paintings: depressing, cheerless, gloomy, dreary, bleak, dispiriting, drab, dismal, desolate, wretched, comfortless, austere, stark, somber, grim; unwelcoming, uninviting, inhospitable; literary drear. ▷antonyms pleasant, welcoming.