brooding

adjective

brood·​ing ˈbrü-diŋ How to pronounce brooding (audio)
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
broodingly adverb
a broodingly handsome actor
Gardner gazes broodingly at the camera … Kathleen Murphy

Examples of brooding in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
When One Tree Hill premiered in 2003, Chad Michael Murray had already cemented his status as a brooding heartthrob. Alexandra Schonfeld, PEOPLE, 23 Sep. 2025 Missy's brooding brother Cliff (Bradford) homes in on Torrance as a potential love connection, while Torrance leads the Toros to a stunning defeat at the hands of the East Compton Clovers after it's revealed that Big Red plagiarized the routine charted out by their impeccable captain Isis (Union). Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Sep. 2025 Robbie is a complicated man, at once incredibly compassionate and deeply self-centered, philosophical and brooding but also impulsive and hot-tempered. Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025 Williams plays Dylan, a brooding bad boy. Denise Petski, Deadline, 12 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for brooding

Word History

First Known Use

1818, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of brooding was in 1818

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Cite this Entry

“Brooding.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brooding. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.

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