brooding

1 of 2

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

brooding

2 of 2

present participle of brood entry 3

Examples of brooding in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Massive ceramic brakes on 20- and 21-inch wheels complete the overall sense that this car is a brooding, robotic beast. — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 28 Aug. 2026

Davidson previously teased just how far the transformation goes, appearing in an earlier first-look image with longer hair, a darker, more brooding look, and colored contacts. — Daisy Maldonado, InStyle, 26 Aug. 2026

In a little over a hundred pages, Martin interlaces stark, brooding and intense descriptions of the encounter and her injuries with philosophical, even spiritual, explorations. — The Know, Denver Post, 9 Aug. 2026

Alvarez was a fan of the brooding, vulnerable bedroom pop that had turned the then-20-year-old, born David Anthony Burke, into a Gen Z sensation. — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 5 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1818, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for brooding

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