brooding 1 of 2

Definition of broodingnext

brooding

2 of 2

verb

present participle of brood
as in sitting
to cover and warm eggs as the young inside develop don't disturb the hen while she's brooding

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of brooding
Adjective
Channeling ’90s slowcore and post-rock into gorgeously brooding odes to dejection, the Chicago quartet’s debut is downer music at its most alluring. Joshua Minsoo Kim, Pitchfork, 13 Apr. 2026 A lot of it came down to Adam, a brooding alcoholic, who was often unpredictable in his behavior. Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Apr. 2026
Verb
Then the climax subsides for a lovely coda of strings, accompanied by a denouement in which the now casually clad, contemporary-looking singer smashes up her play set in the apartment where she’s presumably been brooding over all this stuff. Chris Willman, Variety, 22 May 2026 Baha Mar is large in stature, sure—and Rosewood is part of a three-hotel complex across the bay from Atlantis, which looms large and brooding over its own end of the water as everything Baha Mar does not want to be—dated, dark, and reminiscent of Spring Break Past. Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for brooding
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brooding
Adjective
  • In addition, a less diverse diet in pregnant mothers is linked to food allergy and asthma risk.
    Dr. Daniel DiGiacomo, Boston Herald, 7 June 2026
  • Being a child, over 65 or pregnant puts you at greater risk, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
    Doyle Rice, USA Today, 7 June 2026
Verb
  • The person sitting between Sajani and Suvali, Reshma, stepped up to be Sasmita.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 29 May 2026
  • Elder’s sculpture was sitting outside of Bee Hive KC over Memorial Day Weekend when a man who was visibly angry allegedly began vandalizing the honeybee, according to Elder.
    Jenna Ebbers, Kansas City Star, 29 May 2026
Adjective
  • Judith Lightfoot Clarke and Greg Wood carry themselves with peevish authority as the Butley, oozing entitlement.
    Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 28 Apr. 2026
  • The childishness of his expressions infantilized a genuinely vicious regime, painting it as more peevish than petrifying.
    Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • About a year after infection, a fully mature, gravid female worm migrates to the skin, usually in the lower extremities.
    Mark Kortepeter, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
  • Paloski said the massasauga encountered could be a gravid female about to give birth.
    Paul A. Smith, Journal Sentinel, 14 Aug. 2022
Verb
  • Like Heated Rivalry before it, Off Campus became an instant sensation, spawning a passionate fanbase that’s ready to see how the rest of Kennedy’s books might be adapted in future seasons.
    Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 28 May 2026
  • This embrace of coal is a short-term fix—extending the life spans of older coal-burning plants rather than spawning a wave of new ones.
    Jordan Blum, Fortune, 19 May 2026
Adjective
  • Even Adam’s irritable female boss, Suzie (Sasheer Zamata), hides under a people-pleasing mask.
    Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026
  • That’s because the Moon is at odds with Mars today and everyone is irritable.
    Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 7 May 2026
Adjective
  • But the research closely monitored the activity levels of expectant moms throughout pregnancy with fitness trackers, which is a more reliable method than simply asking the participants about their activity levels.
    Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 28 May 2026
  • Kris Jenner is a grandmother of 13, and over the years, her children have thrown fun, elaborate baby showers for their expectant bundles of joy.
    Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 22 May 2026
Verb
  • Of those that remained active, a substantial fraction took a blood meal when brought to the laboratory and offered one, and went on to produce hatching offspring.
    John Drake, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
  • The company released a video showing the hatching chicks.
    Devika Rao, TheWeek, 28 May 2026

Cite this Entry

“Brooding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brooding. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.

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