brooding

adjective brood·ing \ ˈbrü-diŋ \

Updated on: 19 May 2018

Definition of brooding

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

See brooding defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of brooding from the Web

Selected for the festival's Un Certain Regard section, Murder Me, Monster keeps viewers on their toes with its idiosyncratic blend of bloodthirsty gore, fatalistic brooding and dark humor.

— stephen dalton, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Murder Me, Monster' ('Muere, monstro, muere'): Film Review | Cannes 2018," 13 May 2018
Meanwhile, Kylo — as in Kylo Ren, the brooding Star Wars villain played by Adam Driver in the new film trilogy — was second on the list of names declining in popularity, behind only Riaan on that chart.

— jeff weiner, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Popular baby names for 2017: Melania rising, Kylo falling — Liam, Emma top annual list," 11 May 2018
At the crux of their unexpectedly tight bout is, rather than any brooding, existential question about the future of the party, a case of differing personalities and approaches to policymaking.

— gregory krieg, CNN, "Progressive surge on display in Ohio's Cordray-Kucinich primary," 8 May 2018
Yes, there’s still a Tess and a Jake (Tom Sturridge), the brooding and dangerous love interest, but in season one, at least, Tess’ undefined yet intense relationship with waiter Simone (Caitlin Fitzgerald) gets priority.

— refinery29.com, "Why Instagram's Favorite Book Will Be Your Favorite Show On TV," 3 May 2018
The view from the main terrace looks out toward the volcano at Rabaul, which cuts a brooding profile across the horseshoe bay.

— sophy roberts, Condé Nast Traveler, "Navigating Tradition and Tourism in Papua New Guinea," 3 May 2018
This scares me a little but mostly turns me on — a repressed past; an untellable secret; dark, brooding eyes under a strange, little-boy haircut, lonely, sucking nectar out of a carton.

— Longreads, "Captive Audience," 1 May 2018
Yet the movie’s plot machinations and brooding tone are at times a little too clever.

— pat padua, kansascity, "In ‘Thoroughbreds,’ dark deeds brew in the suburbs | The Kansas City Star," 8 Mar. 2018
The sound is expansive, more reliant on keyboards, sax, and gospel-like female backing singers than on the electric guitars and brooding melodies of his past.

— Philly.com, "Album reviews: Ashley Monroe, Willie Nelson, Okkervil River," 26 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'brooding.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.