The phrase 'dismal existence' is a correct and usable part of a sentence in written English.
It can be used to describe a life or situation that is unhappy, depressing, or lacking in joy or hope. Example: Despite her wealth, the protagonist in the novel lived a dismal existence, constantly feeling empty and unfulfilled.
Trapped in a dismal existence, Aaron clings to fragments of beauty: the "gilt-edged glass" of Omar's Perfume Emporium; a vision of the Virgin Mary in the dark glass doors of the luxury Imperial Hotel.
Greater community support would prevent pensioners living a "dismal existence" and going into care unnecessarily, said Norman Lamb.
"If someone is living on their own never seeing anyone, that is a dismal existence, and it often ends up with it all collapsing and them going into a care home".
I was molded by her dismal existence and her unfathomable perseverance.
It felt rather inappropriate to stare, but the only jellyfish I'd seen before lived a seemingly dismal existence in a Los Angeles restaurant's aquarium tank.
Treves is the surgeon who rescued the actual malformed Merrick from his dismal existence as a carnival attraction and gave the abused man a home at London Hospital for the last years of his short life (1862-1890).
I watch my characters struggle through rather dismal, lonely existences consumed with minutiae and wonder, "What does this say about me?" (Maxis; $49.95; for all ages).
It charts a day in the life of the Pooterish eponymous hero, an accountant who lives under the Heathrow flight path with his wife, Mrs Phillips, with whom he shares an existence of dismal ordinariness.
It is an unabashed account of the dismal lodgings, awful food, and terrible smells that make up the day-to-day existence of any impecunious twentysomething.
Consistent with this expression, Freeman et al. (2002) report that although new pigeonpea technologies are available, their dismal adoption by the farming community in Malawi has been due to the lack of knowledge about their existence.
