brooding

adjective

brood·​ing ˈbrü-diŋ 

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

The picture is dedicated to Hutchins, and its brooding elegance, its rich shadows and evocative close-ups, demonstrates her achievement: Visually, Rust is often astonishing — which of course reminds us all over again of the dark specter hanging over the film. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 2 May 2025

While others chase bright lights and digital theatre, AllSaints has stayed brooding and tactile. —Kate Hardcastle, Forbes.com, 21 Apr. 2025

Huston plays the brooding, bedridden widow who watches keenly over Gull’s Point, the Devonshire coastal estate that is both her domain and lookout tower. —Erik Morse, Vogue, 15 Apr. 2025

While Han Solo is aloof, snide, and brooding, Indiana Jones is warm, beleaguered, and funnier. —Tim Grierson, Vulture, 18 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1818, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for brooding

• feuding
• alluding
• colluding
• concluding
• deluding
• denuding
• eluding
• excluding
• extruding
• exuding
• including
• intruding