The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Dreary \Drear"y\ (dr[=e]r"[y^]), a. [Compar. Drearier; superl.
   Dreariest.] [OE. dreori, dreri, AS. dre['o]rig, sad; akin
   to G. traurig, and prob. to AS. dre['o]san to fall, Goth.
   driusan. Cf. Dross, Drear, Drizzle, Drowse.]
   1. Sorrowful; distressful. [Obs.] " Dreary shrieks."
      --Spenser.
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   2. Exciting cheerless sensations, feelings, or associations;
      comfortless; dismal; gloomy. " Dreary shades." --Dryden.
      "The dreary ground." --Prior.
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            Full many a dreary anxious hour.      --Keble.
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            Johnson entered on his vocation in the most dreary
            part of that dreary interval which separated two
            ages of prosperity.                   --Macaulay.
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