1
: moodily or sullenly thoughtful or serious
a brooding genius
a brooding, embittered man
2
: darkly somber
a brooding landscape
a quiet, brooding atmosphere
… brooding, violent images reminiscent of … film noir …—
Tracy Hopkins
Tracy Hopkins
broodingly
adverb
a broodingly handsome actor
Gardner gazes broodingly at the camera …
—Kathleen Murphy
Kathleen Murphy
Examples of brooding in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Leonard partly attributes this shift in our views of romance, this fatigue around brooding, emotionally unavailable characters, to the post-#MeToo moment.
—Lorena O’Neil, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2024
Sober, brooding and as Canneseries director Albin Lewi notes,, a meticulous reconstruction of a milestone moment when a push for democracy was halted in its tracks.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
But where are his descendants: the brooding, mercurial, ultra-male actors who pull performances out of their guts and refuse to talk about it afterward?
—Ty Burr, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2024
Zhang’s preference is to present them to you in small moments and simple exchanges, with the idea that the oblique approach will eventually lead to what’s insightful — in this case, a brooding, middle-aged Beijing man’s acceptance of his unresolved past and possible future.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2024
There are glimmers of unrequited love, of a dark interiority driving the music’s brooding, sci-fi aesthetic.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 21 Feb. 2024
Set against a brooding, mountainous landscape, the movie evokes the in-between world of ancient myth referenced in the title.
—Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 18 Feb. 2024
There is a brooding feeling that a person cannot be fully one identity or the other identity, with both of their feet constantly navigating different worlds, stigmas, and judgments.
—Danny Hajjar, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2024
Taylor Hill’s brooding, dynamic production blends stuttering hi-hats with sultry guitars, making for an instrumental every bit as immersive as Sir’s lead vocal.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 29 Jan. 2024
Lorena O’Neil, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2024
Sober, brooding and as Canneseries director Albin Lewi notes,, a meticulous reconstruction of a milestone moment when a push for democracy was halted in its tracks.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
But where are his descendants: the brooding, mercurial, ultra-male actors who pull performances out of their guts and refuse to talk about it afterward?
—Ty Burr, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2024
Zhang’s preference is to present them to you in small moments and simple exchanges, with the idea that the oblique approach will eventually lead to what’s insightful — in this case, a brooding, middle-aged Beijing man’s acceptance of his unresolved past and possible future.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2024
There are glimmers of unrequited love, of a dark interiority driving the music’s brooding, sci-fi aesthetic.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 21 Feb. 2024
Set against a brooding, mountainous landscape, the movie evokes the in-between world of ancient myth referenced in the title.
—Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 18 Feb. 2024
There is a brooding feeling that a person cannot be fully one identity or the other identity, with both of their feet constantly navigating different worlds, stigmas, and judgments.
—Danny Hajjar, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2024
Taylor Hill’s brooding, dynamic production blends stuttering hi-hats with sultry guitars, making for an instrumental every bit as immersive as Sir’s lead vocal.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 29 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'brooding.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Brooding.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brooding. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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