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
Another relatively new replacement, Ethan Baechtold (in the band since 2023), offered the brooding low end on bass to round Wednesday's sound, while Alan Miller delivered heavy fills and heart-racing builds on drums.
—Piet Levy, jsonline.com, 28 Mar. 2026
The teaser trailer shows Corrin as Jane Austen’s beloved protagonist sitting atop her house in the early 19th century, and glimpses of the brooding Darcy from behind a doorway and riding his horse.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 24 Feb. 2026
No more brooding alone at house parties.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 19 Feb. 2026
As Heathcliff, the Scottish actor Robert Cavanah is more brooding than dashing, but that hard edge works for the character’s grim undertones.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 16 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for brooding
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Piet Levy, jsonline.com, 28 Mar. 2026
The teaser trailer shows Corrin as Jane Austen’s beloved protagonist sitting atop her house in the early 19th century, and glimpses of the brooding Darcy from behind a doorway and riding his horse.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 24 Feb. 2026
No more brooding alone at house parties.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 19 Feb. 2026
As Heathcliff, the Scottish actor Robert Cavanah is more brooding than dashing, but that hard edge works for the character’s grim undertones.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 16 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for brooding
Cite this Entry
“Brooding.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brooding. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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