1
as in bleak
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
the usual glum waiting room at the tax collector's office a cold, glum day
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sad
feeling unhappiness
how can you be glum after such a great day?
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in pouting
given to or displaying a resentful silence and often irritability
a chronically glum and pouting child
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of glum
As my colleague Matt Viser wrote last week, Rubio—who often seemed glum early in the administration—now looks to be having the time of his life.
—
David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 11 May 2026
What that looks like in practice is a collection of 10 songs that range from glum balladry to cautiously ecstatic nu-disco, created with a high-class list of collaborators, including Air’s Nicolas Godin (the album was primarily recorded at Godin’s Paris studio) and Étienne de Crécy.
—Molly Mary O’Brien, Pitchfork, 14 Mar. 2026
The numbers, of course, never tell the whole story, but still paint a glum picture of a less-than-menacing offense.
—Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 2 Mar. 2026
Sarandos was seen exiting the White House complex with a glum look on his face.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for glum
David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 11 May 2026
What that looks like in practice is a collection of 10 songs that range from glum balladry to cautiously ecstatic nu-disco, created with a high-class list of collaborators, including Air’s Nicolas Godin (the album was primarily recorded at Godin’s Paris studio) and Étienne de Crécy.
—Molly Mary O’Brien, Pitchfork, 14 Mar. 2026
The numbers, of course, never tell the whole story, but still paint a glum picture of a less-than-menacing offense.
—Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 2 Mar. 2026
Sarandos was seen exiting the White House complex with a glum look on his face.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for glum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for glum
Adjective
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For years, radical climate activists have painted a bleak view of the future.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
29 May 2026
-
The bleak, desolate masterpiece from 1989’s Pretty Hate Machine was used to great effect in 1995’s Natural Born Killers, the first film soundtrack produced by Reznor.—
Al Shipley,
SPIN,
29 May 2026
Adjective
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The other six ascended to the highest office in the land as a result of the dysfunction that has made Peru a punch line in political-science circles, a sad story of ungovernability played on a loop.—
Daniel Alarcón,
New Yorker,
4 June 2026
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There’s a one-note quality to the film’s comedy that grows steadily, even deliberately, more abrasive over two hours, but the sad, brash, gradually shrinking bigness of the personalities at its center holds your attention.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
4 June 2026
Adjective
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There’s a somber scene in a new documentary about Patrick Kelly, where executive producers Jess Manning and Ray Cornelius are at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center, about to dive into research about the late fashion designer.—
Bianca Betancourt,
CNN Money,
2 June 2026
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But after seven episodes wearing down the viewer with a bleak perspective, in the season finale, Euphoria pulls itself out of its own somber patterns to reach for grace and mercy in Christian symbolism, American wholesomeness, and the concept of family.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
1 June 2026
Adjective
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One reason Red Sea traffic remains depressed is because ships can bypass it and avoid the security risk altogether by sailing around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.—
Spencer Kimball,
CNBC,
30 May 2026
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As anxiety has mounted about depressed entry-level hiring, with Gen Z crowds even booing luminaries such as Eric Schmidt amid commencement speeches touting AI, Dimon has given warm but blunt advice to ambitious young workers.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
29 May 2026
Adjective
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Even Adam’s irritable female boss, Suzie (Sasheer Zamata), hides under a people-pleasing mask.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2026
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That’s because the Moon is at odds with Mars today and everyone is irritable.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
7 May 2026
Adjective
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Its trio, a lonely fox-deer, an axolotl apprentice healer and a red panda Viking, travel through a darkening natural world as the series folds identity, belonging and environmental crisis.—
Callum McLennan,
Variety,
1 June 2026
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Brunson is hardly a lonely talent.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
30 May 2026
Adjective
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What’s leaving one unhappy child at home compared to sending five hundred people home from the theatre happy?—
Deborah Treisman,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
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Shohei Ohtani almost became the most unhappy pitcher to ever be part of throwing a no-hitter.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
28 May 2026
Adjective
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Now, in a more intimate setting, the sullen and sometimes-sarcastic shadings of this longtime singer-songwriter should hark back to Folds’ fledgling days on the alt-music scene.—
David L. Coddon,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 May 2026
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Sometimes someone’s sullen or preoccupied or way too wound up.—
Risa Polansky Shiman,
Sun Sentinel,
6 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Glum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/glum. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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