morose

adjective

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mo·rose | \ mə-ˈrōs

, mȯ- \

Definition of morose

1 : having a sullen and gloomy disposition

2 : marked by or expressive of gloom

Other Words from morose Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym Example Sentences Learn More about morose

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Choose the Right Synonym for 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. 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 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 — Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 1969 He became morose and withdrawn and would not talk to anyone.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 on the Web The sound of the Weeknd’s smash is not as morose as its accidentally timely themes might suggest. — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, "How to Party Alone," 1 Apr. 2020 There’s a dismissive sourness here, though, too morose for satire. — Darren Franich, EW.com, "Attack of the Clones," 20 Nov. 2019 Billie poured herself into the emotions of every syllable, doing her best to let the morose piano track swell and fill the arena. — Chris Payne, Billboard, "Watch Billie Eilish Deliver Mesmerizing 'When the Party's Over' Performance at 2020 Grammys," 26 Jan. 2020 Richard Jewell, with its streamlined perspective on these events and deeply symbolic treatment of its characters, can be construed as a religious text as much as a narrative one, morose with meaning and full of wrath. — Isaac Feldberg, Fortune, "What to Watch (and Skip) in Theaters and on Netflix This Weekend," 13 Dec. 2019 Despite the cemetery's name, many of the graves' poems are downright morose. — Rick Steves, USA TODAY, "Lesser-known bones: Rick Steves' guide to Europe’s most offbeat crypts and cemeteries," 13 Nov. 2019 The subtext of spousal abuse, coupled with a tragic fate that befalls one of the store’s workers, lends the film, by Thomas Stuber, a melancholy tone bordering on the morose. — Michael O'sullivan, Twin Cities, "Love blossoms in the aisles of a big-box store in the German drama ‘In the Aisles’," 18 July 2019 That’s especially true for Darth Vader (David Prowse), forever after a morose figure of tragedy. — Darren Franich, EW.com, "Star Wars rewatch: The Empire Strikes Back is the special effects movie that hates special effects," 30 Oct. 2019 The mega-fame of Kurt Cobain, Leonard Cohen, and so many other morose stars would seem to say otherwise. — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, "When Music’s Sad Boys Chase Happiness," 24 Oct. 2019

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.