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
Sisters Ellie, Lily and Powell Balkcom delivered a powerfully brooding, almost hauntingly beautiful cover of a cover that has come to serve as a cornerstone of their emerging neo-traditional sound.
—Chris Barilla, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026
This week, Olivia Rodrigo falls head over heels in a dreamy synth-pop track, Tom Waits returns to music with a brooding, political Massive Attack collaboration, and Tyla and Zara Larsson team up for a sultry pop girl jam.
—Rolling Stone, 17 Apr. 2026
Sasha’s eldest brother, Jeremy (Edik Beddoes), has entered into a serious brooding-teen phase — or, perhaps, something worse.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2026
Channeling ’90s slowcore and post-rock into gorgeously brooding odes to dejection, the Chicago quartet’s debut is downer music at its most alluring.
—Joshua Minsoo Kim, Pitchfork, 13 Apr. 2026
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Chris Barilla, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026
This week, Olivia Rodrigo falls head over heels in a dreamy synth-pop track, Tom Waits returns to music with a brooding, political Massive Attack collaboration, and Tyla and Zara Larsson team up for a sultry pop girl jam.
—Rolling Stone, 17 Apr. 2026
Sasha’s eldest brother, Jeremy (Edik Beddoes), has entered into a serious brooding-teen phase — or, perhaps, something worse.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2026
Channeling ’90s slowcore and post-rock into gorgeously brooding odes to dejection, the Chicago quartet’s debut is downer music at its most alluring.
—Joshua Minsoo Kim, Pitchfork, 13 Apr. 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 25 Apr. 2026.
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