sulky

1 of 2

adjective

ˈsəl-kē 

sulkier; sulkiest

1

a

: sulking or given to spells of sulking

b

: relating to or indicating a sulk

a sulky expression

2

[sulky entry 2] : having wheels and usually a seat for the driver

a sulky plow

sulkily

ˈsəl-kə-lē 

adverb

sulkiness

ˈsəl-kē-nəs 

noun

sulky

2 of 2

noun

plural sulkies

: a light 2-wheeled vehicle (as for harness racing) having a seat for the driver only and usually no body

Synonyms

Adjective

• pouting
• irritable
• sullen
• pouty

Choose the Right Synonym for sulky

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 sulky in a Sentence

Adjective

She is very sulky today.

She's in a sulky mood.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Still, Ortega’s performance proves that sulky, baleful gravity doesn’t have to lose its strange luster over time (a third season has already been announced). —Tom Gliatto, PEOPLE, 3 Sep. 2025

Founder Max Siegelman drew upon his family’s harness racing roots thanks to the boarding and teaching facility for the sport involving the powerful animal, a sulky and human direction that dates to the 1800s in the US. —Roxanne Robinson, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025

Noun

The first floor of the barn once housed farm equipment, grain bins and feeding troughs, as well as the remnants of an old sulky. —Mary Jane Brewer, cleveland, 23 May 2022

Occasionally there would be an eruption of cheering, or sulky booing would break out. —Doug MacCash | Staff Writer, NOLA.com, 3 Nov. 2020

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

probably alteration of obsolete sulke sluggish

Noun

probably from sulky entry 1; from its having room for only one person

First Known Use

Adjective

1744, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1756, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for sulky

• bulky

Kids Definition

sulky

1 of 2 adjective

ˈsəl-kē 

sulkier; sulkiest

: acting or tending to act silently angry, upset, or irritable

sulkily

-kə-lē 

adverb

sulkiness

-kē-nəs 

noun

sulky

2 of 2 noun

plural sulkies

: a light two-wheeled vehicle that is pulled by a horse and has a seat for the driver only and usually no body