Nice one

bleak [bli:k] adj.

bleak·er, bleak·est.

a)Gloomy and somber: “Life in the Aran Islands has always been bleak and difficult” (John Millington Synge).

b)Providing no encouragement; depressing: a bleak prospect.

c)Cold and cutting; raw: bleak winds of the North Atlantic.

d)Exposed to the elements; unsheltered and barren: the bleak, treeless regions of the high Andes.

Etymology:
Middle English bleik, pale, from Old Norse bleikr, white. See bhel-1 in Appendix I.

Other forms:
bleakly —adverb
bleakness —noun