unjoy

English

Etymology

From un- (“lack or absence of”) +‎ joy.

Noun

unjoy (countable and uncountable, plural unjoys)

1. The lack or absence of joy; joylessness; sorrow; grief.
   • 2013, Anna Banks, Of Triton:

     I wipe away the tears of unjoy before they stain the hideous, stiff bedspread.

   • 1993, Harry John Huebner, David Schroeder, Church as parable: whatever happened to ethics?:

     Joy is possible only if we can get through the periods of unjoy. And all rely on another virtue: hope. Hope is what makes patience humanly possible.