glum

adjective

ˈgləm 

glummer; glummest

1

: broodingly morose

became glum when they heard the news

2

: dreary, gloomy

a glum countenance

glumly adverb

glumness noun

Synonyms

• black
• bleak
• cheerless
• chill
• Cimmerian
• cloudy
• cold
• comfortless
• dark
• darkening
• depressing
• depressive
• desolate
• dire
• disconsolate
• dismal
• drear
• dreary
• dreich [chiefly Scottish]
• elegiac
• elegiacal
• forlorn
• funereal
• gloomy
• godforsaken
• gray
• grey
• lonely
• lonesome
• lugubrious
• miserable
• morbid
• morose
• murky
• plutonian
• saturnine
• sepulchral
• solemn
• somber
• sombre
• sullen
• sunless
• tenebrific
• tenebrous
• wretched

Choose the Right Synonym for glum

sullen, glum, morose, surly, sulky, crabbed, saturnine, gloomy mean showing a forbidding or disagreeable mood.

sullen implies a silent ill humor and a refusal to be sociable.

remained sullen amid the festivities

glum suggests a silent dispiritedness.

a glum candidate left to ponder a stunning defeat

morose adds to glum an element of bitterness or misanthropy.

morose job seekers who are inured to rejection

surly implies gruffness and sullenness of speech or manner.

a typical surly teenager

sulky suggests childish resentment expressed in peevish sullenness.

grew sulky after every spat

crabbed applies to a forbidding morose harshness of manner.

the school's notoriously crabbed headmaster

saturnine describes a heavy forbidding aspect or suggests a bitter disposition.

a saturnine cynic always finding fault

gloomy implies a depression in mood making for seeming sullenness or glumness.

a gloomy mood ushered in by bad news

Examples of glum in a Sentence

There's no need to look so glum—things will get better soon.

There was a glum silence in the room.

Recent Examples on the Web

Still, the mood on the Geek Squad subreddit—hardly a scientific sample but indicative of sentiment—was glum. —Eoin Higgins, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2024

As more than 5,000 leaders from across China are gathered in Beijing for the year’s biggest political events, the mood on the streets and in financial markets remains glum. —Dake Kang and Elaine Kurtenbach, Quartz, 4 Mar. 2024

While the filming process may have left the actress feeling glum, her turn as the steely editor earned her multiple accolades — including a SAG award nomination and an Oscar nod. —Sabienna Bowman, Peoplemag, 25 Feb. 2024

Dour view of the economy South Carolina residents feel pretty glum about both the state and national economy, as well as their personal finances, according to a Winthrop University poll from May 2023. —Tami Luhby, CNN, 24 Feb. 2024

Back in the locker room, the mood was only momentarily glum. —Katherine Rosman, New York Times, 10 Feb. 2024

That outcome adds to a glum picture for developers like Fortnite maker Epic, consumers, and governments from around the world that have been trying for years to loosen the restrictions Apple and Google maintain over downloading, paying for, and using apps on mobile devices. —Paresh Dave, WIRED, 18 Jan. 2024

Another question explores why economic attitudes are so glum. —Gary Langer, ABC News, 14 Jan. 2024

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (Paramount) Fantasy had become incredibly glum and heavy thanks to Game of Thrones and its ilk, so directors and co-writers John Francis Daley and Johnathan Goldstein zagged when others zigged, making a delightful romp with humor and heart. —Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Jan. 2024

Word History

Etymology

akin to Middle English gloumen to gloom

First Known Use

1547, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

glum

adjective

ˈgləm 

glummer; glummest

1

: sullen sense 1a

2

: seeming gloomy and sad

a glum expression

glumly adverb

glumness noun