Definition of morose
1
:having a sullen and gloomy disposition
2
:marked by or expressive of gloom
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Examples of morose in a Sentence
- She thought of the bootlegger at home—a raddled, skinny old man, morose and suspicious. He sat on his front step with a shotgun on Halloween night. —Alice Munro, Runaway, 2004
- We have little finished footage to go by, but enough to give us pause: an exquisite clip of Rochefort, sitting with a book in the half-darkness, his eyes wet, gleaming, and morose. —Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2003
- I have never known if Momma sent for us, or if the St. Louis family just got fed up with my grim presence. There is nothing more appalling than a constantly morose child. —Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 1969
He became morose and withdrawn and would not talk to anyone.
those morose job seekers who have grown accustomed to rejection
Recent Examples of morose from the Web
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In a slightly morose way, the Justice for Barb shrine feels like a fitting tribute to one of 2016's most beloved characters.
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The footage revealed the morose state of Cherry Tree Lane in London’s slump era, where the Banks family is distraught following the death of Michael’s wife.
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Typical sad Limey stuff from a day when Morrissey was still just a morose Manchester kid writing fan letters to the New York Dolls.
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The Answers follows Mary Parsons, a peculiar, morose, blank slate of a girl from Tennessee.
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That would explain a lot, except there’s not enough sun; the continuity is so inept that we get whisked directly from a bright and glorious day, in one shot, to another that looks gray and morose.
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But the mug shot of an unshaven, tired and morose looking Woods won’t play well in any marketing campaign.
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Charlie Brown and Linus appear silently in three panels, sitting and looking morose.
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The matinee morose cast over 32,267 fans at Camden Yards set in early when the long innings forged the result before a late comeback effort came up short.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'morose.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of morose
Latin morosus, literally, capricious, from mor-, mos will
morose Synonyms
Synonyms
black, bleak, cheerless, chill, Cimmerian, cloudy, cold, comfortless, dark, darkening, depressing, depressive, desolate, dire, disconsolate, dismal, drear, dreary, dreich [chiefly Scottish], elegiac (also elegiacal), forlorn, funereal, glum, godforsaken, gray (also grey), lonely, lonesome, lugubrious, miserable, morbid, gloomy, murky, plutonian, saturnine, sepulchral, solemn, somber (or sombre), sullen, sunless, tenebrific, tenebrous, wretchedAntonyms
bright, cheerful, cheering, cheery, comforting, cordial, festive, friendly, gay, heartwarming, sunshinyRelated Words
blue, dejected, depressed, despondent, disconsolate, down, droopy, hangdog, inconsolable, low, melancholic, melancholy, mirthless, sad, unhappy, woebegone, woeful; dim, discomfiting, discouraging, disheartening, dismaying, dispiriting, distressful, distressing, upsetting; desperate, hopeless, pessimistic; lamentable, mournful, plaintive, sorrowful; colorless, drab, dull; dour, grim, lowering (also louring), lowery (also loury), menacing, negative, oppressive, threateningNear Antonyms
blithe, blithesome, buoyant, gay, jocund, jolly, joyful, joyous, merry, mirthful; encouraging, hopeful, optimistic; lighthearted, lightsomeSynonym Discussion of morose
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.
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- remained sullen amid the festivities
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- a glum candidate left to ponder a stunning defeat
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- morose job seekers who are inured to rejection
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- a typical surly teenager
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- grew sulky after every spat
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- the school's notoriously crabbed headmaster
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- a saturnine cynic always finding fault
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- a gloomy mood ushered in by bad news
MOROSE Defined for English Language Learners
MOROSE Defined for Kids
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See words that rhyme with morose Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for morose Spanish Central: Translation of morose Nglish: Translation of morose for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of morose for Arabic speakers
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