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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sad
feeling unhappiness
how can you be glum after such a great day?
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in pouting
given to or displaying a resentful silence and often irritability
a chronically glum and pouting child
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 glum
The New York Fed’s latest Survey of Consumer Expectations data released Monday added more glum outlooks to the growing pile of sour sentiment readings from Americans at a time when unpredictable federal policies have caused uncertainty and recession fears to spike.
—
Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 14 Apr. 2025
By examining lots of logical reasoning examples, the aim is that the budding AI will mathematically and computationally glum onto how to best perform logical reasoning.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 10 Mar. 2025
Give me this version of Philadelphia mayhem over the glum Long Bright River or Dope Thief any day.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 8 May 2025
Sometimes they’re carried along on glum motorcycle rides, meandering downriver journeys, and great leaps forward in time.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 2 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for glum
Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 14 Apr. 2025
By examining lots of logical reasoning examples, the aim is that the budding AI will mathematically and computationally glum onto how to best perform logical reasoning.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 10 Mar. 2025
Give me this version of Philadelphia mayhem over the glum Long Bright River or Dope Thief any day.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 8 May 2025
Sometimes they’re carried along on glum motorcycle rides, meandering downriver journeys, and great leaps forward in time.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 2 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for glum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for glum
Adjective
-
During that bleak era, Che-Chung Tsai, a researcher at the University of Washington, contacted several companies, seeking experimental drugs for use in an animal study.—
Jon Cohen,
New Yorker,
24 June 2025
-
That said, Google’s latest survey paints a bleak picture.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
Adjective
-
The building directly across the street stands in sad disrepair, its windows smashed, swathed in graffiti, a front garage door hangs half-open.—
Eric Adler,
Kansas City Star,
19 June 2025
-
Two screenshots from the video showing Ollie was a sad facial expression.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 June 2025
Adjective
-
For all the highs that Young Thug’s performance delivered, there comes one somber realization.—
Mark P. Braboy,
Rolling Stone,
23 June 2025
-
There are places where 28 Years Later is gorgeously somber, echoing the desolate lyricism of the first movie.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
19 June 2025
Adjective
-
What would Georgia wear in her most depressed state?—
Hedy Phillips,
People.com,
16 June 2025
-
That can put them on edge and heighten their separation anxiety, Langan said, and if their owners are depressed or grief-stricken about loss and uncertainty, the animals absorb those emotions too.—
Steve Lopez,
Los Angeles Times,
14 June 2025
Adjective
-
Her tone is free-associative, irritable and rat-a-tat.—
Alexandra Jacobs,
New York Times,
1 June 2025
-
When an owner is distracted or irritable from work stress, the dog notices.—
Jasmine Baehr,
FOXNews.com,
25 May 2025
Adjective
-
On social media, there’s a certain kind of influencer who specializes in attracting lonely, unhappy people by brandishing mantras and principles that will allegedly lead them to more fulfilled and successful lives.—
Jia Tolentino,
New Yorker,
23 June 2025
-
Over in her Hawaiian home land, 19-year-old Nani (Tia Carrere) has been trying her best to fend for herself and her lonely little sister Lilo (beautifully voiced by young Daveigh Chase) in the absence of their parents.—
Michael Rechtshaffen,
HollywoodReporter,
22 June 2025
Adjective
-
The root of the fallout was the Who (and specifically Daltrey) being unhappy with Starkey’s performance when the band played a pair of Teenage Cancer Trust charity shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall in March.—
Daniel Kreps,
Rolling Stone,
22 June 2025
-
On Friday, Devers alluded to being unhappy with how the Red Sox treated him.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
20 June 2025
Adjective
-
Flowers brighter than the rose bloomed in the blackest of the heath for her; out of a sullen hollow in a livid hillside her mind could make an Eden.—
Erik Pedersen,
Oc Register,
6 June 2025
-
When this long, difficult, rewarding and validating Minnesota Timberwolves season came to a crashing halt Wednesday in Oklahoma City, a sullen group of players and coaches filed into the locker room to come to grips with it all.—
Jon Krawczynski,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Glum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/glum. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share