sulk

1 of 2

verb

sulked; sulking; sulks

intransitive verb

: to be moodily silent

sulk

2 of 2

noun

1
: the state of one sulking
often used in plural
had a case of the sulks
2
: a sulky mood or spell
in a sulk

Examples of sulk in a Sentence

Verb He went to sulk in his room. She has been sulking all day. Noun a child sitting in a sulk over a minor disagreement
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Upon learning that Rocco is actually Isabella's boyfriend, Valentina canceled their after-work plans to get a drink to celebrate her birthday, and was planning to sulk alone until Mia (Beatrice Grannò) struck up a conversation with her at the hotel bar. Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 5 Dec. 2022 The youngsters sulk, stomp and scamper, pull pranks and horse around. Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 2 Feb. 2024 Turning point CeeDee Lamb sulking on the sidelines of a 42-10 loss to the 49ers. Clarence E. Hill Jr., Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Jan. 2024 With a game Thursday morning, the hosts have no time to sulk. Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Dec. 2023 Izzy follows her outside and the two of them sulk with their heads in their hands while Smith’s music plays. Krystie Lee Yandoli, Rolling Stone, 1 Oct. 2023 The Season 2 finale (Warning: Spoilers ahead) was supposed to show Magic Johnson (Quincy Isaiah) sulking in defeat against the Boston Celtics after the 1984 NBA Finals. Jonah Valdez, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2023 While Achilles sulks in his tent, his beloved comrade, Patroclus, who shares his bed, bravely joins the battle in Achilles’ armor. Judith Thurman, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023 Chopra, sulking with the glow of one of the world's biggest stars, sometimes comes close to selling the script's stock platitudes about learning to, yes, love again—and to making the film's romantic-comedy clichés gel with its portrait of prolonged mourning. A.a. Dowd, Chron, 5 May 2023
Noun
While Mel says he’s gotten better and has learned to celebrate Nick’s life more than sulk, the pain remains. Jonathan M. Alexander, Charlotte Observer, 30 Jan. 2024 While Logan sulks, Shiv (Sarah Snook), Kendall and Roman (Kieran Culkin) have joined up after being simultaneously clobbered by, well, everyone. Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 23 Mar. 2023 But those victories pale in comparison to a 40-8 game-ending run, playing stifling enough defense to hold a Western Conference contender to 13 percent shooting the final quarter, sending their star player and MVP candidate into a bench sulk for the game’s final minutes. BostonGlobe.com, 11 Apr. 2021 When the pandemic knocked him out of work, the marketing executive went looking to do some good rather than sit at home and sulk in between searching for jobs. Roy Berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, 11 Jan. 2023 But instead of storming off to his bedroom to sulk, Lane slapped mom with a lawsuit. Smriti Rao, Discover Magazine, 8 Apr. 2010 Dallas doesn't have time to sulk after losing to the Packers. Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 14 Nov. 2022 While Donald Trump continues to sulk and stew over his 2020 election loss — so unfair! Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 16 Sep. 2022 The team is horrified to watch sweet little Hughie become corrupted by power… but there's no time to sulk. Alex Raiman, EW.com, 10 June 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sulk.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

back-formation from sulky

First Known Use

Verb

1781, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1804, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of sulk was in 1781

Dictionary Entries Near sulk

Cite this Entry

“Sulk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sulk. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

sulk

1 of 2 verb
: to be silently angry, upset, or irritable

sulk

2 of 2 noun
1
: the state of one sulking
often used in plural
had a case of the sulks
2
: a sulky mood
was in a sulk

More from Merriam-Webster on sulk

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!