as in gruff
harsh and threatening in manner or appearance
a dour prison guard who didn't look like he'd be very understanding
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dour
Trauma has left him dour and self-contained, as inaccessible to others as his childhood is to him.
—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
That dour affair left a sour taste in the soccer world.
—
Cesar R. Torres,
The Conversation,
26 May 2026
The problem is that this is misleadingly planting dour ideas in my head and could prod me into a worse mental condition.
—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2026
Students and retirees are dour.
—
Annie Lowrey,
The Atlantic,
24 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for dour
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
That dour affair left a sour taste in the soccer world.
—
Cesar R. Torres,
The Conversation,
26 May 2026
The problem is that this is misleadingly planting dour ideas in my head and could prod me into a worse mental condition.
—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2026
Students and retirees are dour.
—
Annie Lowrey,
The Atlantic,
24 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for dour
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dour
Adjective
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Abraham Lincoln furiously scribbled in Springfield on June 27, 1858, firing off a gruff note to the editor-in-chief of the Chicago Press & Tribune, then in business for only 11 years.
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But Rose bet that a less gruff voice, ultimately Mike Brown’s, was required to win it all.
Adjective
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The tragedy marks the first deaths for the US Wildland Fire Service, a grim milestone for the new federal agency, which launched in January to coordinate firefighting efforts on public land.
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While that’s a grim statistic, change is possible.
Adjective
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Judges have to throw the book at those arrested to teach them a stern lesson.
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However, for students graduating right now, Hammer can't really summon up anything stern to say.
Adjective
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The caps, made from real bear skin, are a distinctive part of the military uniform, designed to make troops appear taller and more intimidating.
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The one witness everyone in the courtroom remembers was Watkins, an intimidating presence with the build of an NFL defensive tackle.
Adjective
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The 2023 arrest of her then-10-year-old cousin for urinating in public brought fierce condemnation.
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For a party that prides itself on diversity, the clashes have exacerbated fierce debates over identity politics and long-standing rifts between progressives and moderates.
Adjective
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In the midst of the rugged match, Sweden lost one of its top players to a non-contact injury.
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The search for Gracie the giraffe, missing in Texas, hit its two-week mark on June 25 as the manager of her ranch is continuing to scour rugged terrain from the ground and sky.
Adjective
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The goofy sketch comedies and homemade spoofs that once filled his channel gradually disappeared, replaced by melancholy short films and bleak monologues.
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Cher’s court documents paint a bleak picture of how Allman, 49, allegedly blows through his $120,000 annual trust distributions.
Adjective
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The complaint alleges that school officials at Southern Hills Middle School failed to stop two years of antisemitic harassment against an eighth grader even after investigations concluded the student faced a hostile environment.
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Create an internal incident map and begin tagging hostile actions according to the DISARM taxonomy.
Cite this Entry
“Dour.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dour. Accessed 30 Jun. 2026.
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