surly
[ sur-lee ]
/ ˈsɜr li /
adjective, sur·li·er, sur·li·est.
churlishly rude or bad-tempered: a surly waiter.
unfriendly or hostile; menacingly irritable: a surly old lion.
dark or dismal; menacing; threatening: a surly sky.
Obsolete.
lordly; arrogant.
Origin of surly
synonym study for surly
Glum,
morose,
sullen,
dour,
surly all are adjectives describing a gloomy, unsociable attitude.
Glum describes a depressed, spiritless condition or manner, usually temporary rather than habitual:
a glum shrug of the shoulders; a glum, hopeless look in his eye.
Morose, which adds to
glum a sense of bitterness, implies a habitual and pervasive gloominess:
a sour, morose manner; morose withdrawal from human contact.
Sullen usually implies reluctance or refusal to speak accompanied by glowering looks expressing anger or a sense of injury:
a sullen manner, silence, look.
Dour refers to a stern and forbidding aspect, stony and unresponsive:
dour rejection of friendly overtures.
Surly implies gruffness of speech and manner, usually accompanied by an air of injury and ill temper:
a surly reply.
OTHER WORDS FROM surly
Words nearby surly
surinam toad,
suriname,
surinamese,
surjection,
surjective,
surly,
surmise,
surmount,
surmullet,
surname,
surpass
Example sentences from the Web for surly
British Dictionary definitions for surly
surly
/ (ˈsɜːlɪ) /
adjective -lier or -liest
sullenly ill-tempered or rude
(of an animal) ill-tempered or refractory
dismal
obsolete
arrogant
Derived forms of surly
surlily, adverb surliness, nounWord Origin for surly
C16: from obsolete
sirly haughty; see
sir