Main Entry: sul·len

Pronunciation: \ˈsə-lən\

Function: adjective

Etymology: Middle English solein solitary, from Anglo-French sulein, solain, perhaps from sol, soul single, sole + -ain after Old French soltain solitary, private, from Late Latin solitaneus, ultimately from Latin solus alone

Date: 14th century

1 a : gloomily or resentfully silent or repressed <a sullen crowd> b : suggesting a sullen state : lowering <a sullen countenance>
2 : dull or somber in sound or color
3 : dismal, gloomy <a sullen morning>
4 : moving sluggishly <a sullen river>

— sul·len·ly adverb

— sul·len·ness \ˈsə-lə(n)-nəs\ noun

synonyms sullen, glum, morose, surly, sulky, crabbed, saturnine, gloomy mean showing a forbidding or disagreeable mood. sullen implies a silent ill humor and a refusal to be sociable <remained sullen amid the festivities>. glum suggests a silent dispiritedness <a glum candidate left to ponder a stunning defeat>. morose adds to glum an element of bitterness or misanthropy <morose job seekers who are inured to rejection>. surly implies gruffness and sullenness of speech or manner <a typical surly teenager>. sulky suggests childish resentment expressed in peevish sullenness <grew sulky after every spat>. crabbed applies to a forbidding morose harshness of manner <the school's notoriously crabbed headmaster>. saturnine describes a heavy forbidding aspect or suggests a bitter disposition <a saturnine cynic always finding fault>. gloomy implies a depression in mood making for seeming sullenness or glumness <a gloomy mood ushered in by bad news>.