dour

[ door, douuhr, dou-er ]
/ dʊər, daʊər, ˈdaʊ ər /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR dour ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

sullen; gloomy: The captain's dour look depressed us all.
severe; stern: His dour criticism made us regret having undertaken the job.
Scot. (of land) barren; rocky, infertile, or otherwise difficult or impossible to cultivate.

Origin of dour

1325–75; Middle English < Latin dūrus dure1

OTHER WORDS FROM dour

dour·ly, adverb dour·ness, noun

Words nearby dour

doumergue, doun, dounreay, doup, douppioni, dour, doura, dourine, douro, douroucouli, douse

Words related to dourness

simplicity, severity, bareness, economy, plainness, spareness, baldness, primitiveness, spartanism

Example sentences from the Web for dourness

British Dictionary definitions for dourness

dour
/ (dʊə, ˈdaʊə) /

adjective

sullen
hard or obstinate

Derived forms of dour

dourly, adverb dourness, noun

Word Origin for dour

C14: probably from Latin dūrus hard