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
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 The height comes from a stance atop 20-inch wheels, and the vehicle’s sloping hood descends low, like a brooding brow. John Scott Lewinski, Robb Report, 8 Apr. 2026
Verb
Some scholars say one brooding figure is Michelangelo. Martha Teichner, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2026 The point is, Darcy is archetypically tall and brooding. Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for brooding
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brooding
Adjective
  • The pregnant body, unhidden Bolton argues that the pregnant body has either been ignored or stereotyped in art.
    Jocelyn Noveck, Chicago Tribune, 3 May 2026
  • Certain groups — including pregnant women, parents of young children and people with disabilities — are exempt from the work requirements.
    Berkeley Lovelace Jr, NBC news, 1 May 2026
Verb
  • It’s located a little more than 30 minutes east of Tampa, sitting farther inland than Land O’ Lakes.
    Megan Vaz, Sun Sentinel, 8 May 2026
  • Most nursing school graduates are routinely approved, but over the past three years, the board has stopped hundreds of people with diplomas from Operation Nightingale schools from sitting for the exam.
    Annie Martin, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 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
  • The 1982 toy became a phenomenon, spawning the Masters of the Universe franchise with over 125 million toys sold in three years.
    Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026
  • Known for satirizing horror flicks, the Scary Movie films launched with the first title hitting theaters in 2000 before spawning four sequels.
    Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • What are the symptoms of irritable bowel disease?
    Lindy Segal, PEOPLE, 24 Apr. 2026
  • Perhaps through feeling more irritable, more anxious, or wanting to isolate.
    Joy Harden Bradford, AJC.com, 2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • The sea of red hats could’ve been a campaign ad; a fleet of expectant seniors on scooters waited to greet him.
    Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 7 May 2026
  • His tasteless and unfunny comment calling the president’s wife an expectant widow shows just how warped Kimmel has become.
    Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 2 May 2026
Verb
  • The birds will grow up fast and fledge the nest about 40 days after hatching.
    Madeline Bartos, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2026
  • The power struggle swirls around the saintly, ineffectual King Henry until gradually the dynamic York, who has pretended to support Margaret while secretly hatching his own plot, emerges as the chief contender for the throne.
    Gitanjali Roy, Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Apr. 2026

Cite this Entry

“Brooding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brooding. Accessed 9 May. 2026.

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