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Exciting cheerless sensations, feelings, or associations; comfortless; dismal; gloomy. " Dreary shades." Dryden. "The dreary ground." Prior. Full many a dreary anxious hour. Keble. Johnson entered on his vocation in the most dreary part of that dreary interval which separated two ages of prosperity. Macaulay.…

Furnishing little delight, spirit, or variety; uninteresting; tedious; cheerless; gloomy; melancholy; depressing; as, a dull story or sermon; a dull occupation or period; hence, cloudy; overcast; as, a dull day. Along life's dullest, dreariest walk. Keble.

That which flows out; emanation; effluence. Prime cheerer, light! . . . Efflux divine. Thomson.

To raise from a depressed state; to animate; to cheer; as, to elevate the spirits.

To give spirit or vivacity to; to make sprightly, gay, or cheerful; to animate; as, mirth and good humor enliven a company; enlivening strains of music.

To animate; to encourage; to cheer. It raiseth the dropping spirit, erecting it to a loving complaisance. Barrow.

To make merry or jolly; to enliven; to animate; to gladden greatly; to cheer; as, good news exhilarates the mind; wine exhilarates a man.

That exhilarates; cheering; gladdening. -- Ex*hil"a*ra`ting*ly, adv.

The act of enlivening the spirits; the act of making glad or cheerful; a gladdening.

Condition or state of things; fortune; hap; cheer. What fare what news abroad Shak.

"Be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee." Matt. ix. 2.

The quality of being forward; cheerful readiness; promtness; as, the forwardness of Christians in propagating the gospel.

The art or science of good eating; epicurism; the art of good cheer.

though not universal; as, a general opinion; a general custom. This general applause and cheerful sShak.

Contributing to, and sympathizing with, the enjoyment of life; sympathetically cheerful and cheering; jovial and inspiring joy or happiness; exciting pleasure and sympathy; enlivening; kindly; as, she was of a cheerful and genial disposition. So much I feel my genial spirits droop. Milton.

The quality of being genial; sympathetic cheerfulness; warmth of disposition and manners.

Gayly; cheerfully. Johnson.

Pleased; joyous; happy; cheerful; gratified; -- opposed to sorry, sorrowful, or unhappy; -- said of persons, and often followed by of, at, that, or by the infinitive, and sometimes by with, introducing the cause or reason. A wise son maketh a glad father. Prov. x. 1. He that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunishe…

To make glad; to cheer; to please; to gratify; to rejoice; to exhilarate. A secret pleasure gladdened all that saw him. Addison.

With pleasure; joyfully; cheerfully; eagerly. The common people heard him gladly. Mark xii. 37.