sullen

[ suhl-uhn ]

/ ˈsʌl ən /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR sullen ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

showing irritation or ill humor by a gloomy silence or reserve.

persistently and silently ill-humored; morose.

indicative of gloomy ill humor.

gloomy or dismal, as weather or a sound.

sluggish, as a stream.

Obsolete. malignant, as planets or influences.

Origin of sullen

1565–75; earlier solein, Middle English < ?

SYNONYMS FOR sullen

1 See cross.

1, 2 See glum.

2 sulky, moody, sour, bad-tempered.

4 cheerless, clouded, overcast, somber, mournful, dark.

5 slow, stagnant.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR sullen ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR sullen

1, 2 cheerful.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR sullen ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM sullen

sul·len·ly, adverb sul·len·ness, noun un·sul·len, adjective un·sul·len·ly, adverb

Words nearby sullen

sulindac, sulk, sulky, sulla, sullage, sullen, sullivan, sullom voe, sully, sully-prudhomme, sulph-

Example sentences from the Web for sullen

Spring is a time of new beginnings, but in the years that followed, I became inward and sullen as those memories took me under.

Memorial Days After Mourning Has Passed |Alex Horton |May 25, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
When the candidate was sullen and grumpy—which was often—he could read his mood and adjust the bubble accordingly.

No Drama Obama’s Dramatic 2012 Reelection Campaign |Richard Wolffe |September 12, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Strung out on a punishing regimen of diet pills, the once genial young man becomes a sullen, self-pitying wreck.

Richard Porton on Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Behind the Candelabra’ |Richard Porton |May 23, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Kristen Stewart was cast as Marylou at 17, before she played fair-skinned and often sullen Bella Swan in The Twilight series.

‘On the Road’: Differences Between Jack Kerouac’s Novel and This Year’s Film |Anna Klassen |December 21, 2012 |DAILY BEAST

Following Kathy's death, Enos would continue to play Kathy's sullen twin, Jodean, in the fourth season of Big Love.

Big Love's 12 Most Memorable Moments |Jace Lacob |March 19, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
The sullen fire in his eyes reminded the Kommerzienrat of the appearance of his clerk when he had spoken to him of Dr. Weilen.

Simon Eichelkatz; The Patriarch |Ulrich Frank
Again there was the obvious double meaning in his sullen tone.

In the Valley |Harold Frederic
"Kill me and be done with it," he muttered, in sullen despair.

Manasseh |Maurus Jokai
Over his youthful face a sullen shadow had fallen—flickering, not yet settled.

The Fighting Chance |Robert W. Chambers
And with a kind smile he offered his hand to the jailer who stood at the door with a gloomy, sullen air.

Louisa Of Prussia and Her Times |Louise Muhlbach

British Dictionary definitions for sullen

sullen

/ (ˈsʌlən) /

adjective

unwilling to talk or be sociable; sulky; morose

sombre; gloomy a sullen day

literary sluggish; slow a sullen stream

obsolete threatening

noun

(plural) archaic a sullen mood

Derived forms of sullen

sullenly, adverb sullenness, noun

Word Origin for sullen

C16: perhaps from Anglo-French solain (unattested), ultimately related to Latin sōlus alone

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

sullen

adjective

Origin of sullen

SYNONYMS FOR sullen

ANTONYMS FOR sullen

OTHER WORDS FROM sullen

Words nearby sullen

Example sentences from the Web for sullen

British Dictionary definitions for sullen

adjective

noun

Derived forms of sullen

Word Origin for sullen

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

sullen

adjective

Origin of sullen

SYNONYMS FOR sullen

ANTONYMS FOR sullen

OTHER WORDS FROM sullen

Words nearby sullen

Words related to sullen

Example sentences from the Web for sullen

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for sullen

adjective

noun

Derived forms of sullen

Word Origin for sullen

British Dictionary definitions for sullen