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as in sad
feeling unhappiness how can you be glum after such a great day?

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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Synonym Chooser

How is the word glum different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of glum are crabbed, gloomy, morose, saturnine, sulky, sullen, and surly. While all these words mean "showing a forbidding or disagreeable mood," glum suggests a silent dispiritedness.

a glum candidate left to ponder a stunning defeat

When is crabbed a more appropriate choice than glum?

Although the words crabbed and glum have much in common, crabbed applies to a forbidding morose harshness of manner.

the school's notoriously crabbed headmaster

When can gloomy be used instead of glum?

In some situations, the words gloomy and glum are roughly equivalent. However, gloomy implies a depression in mood making for seeming sullenness or glumness.

a gloomy mood ushered in by bad news

How do morose and glum relate to one another?

Morose adds to glum an element of bitterness or misanthropy.

morose job seekers who are inured to rejection

When might saturnine be a better fit than glum?

While the synonyms saturnine and glum are close in meaning, saturnine describes a heavy forbidding aspect or suggests a bitter disposition.

a saturnine cynic always finding fault

When is it sensible to use sulky instead of glum?

The words sulky and glum can be used in similar contexts, but sulky suggests childish resentment expressed in peevish sullenness.

grew sulky after every spat

When would sullen be a good substitute for glum?

The meanings of sullen and glum largely overlap; however, sullen implies a silent ill humor and a refusal to be sociable.

remained sullen amid the festivities

When could surly be used to replace glum?

The synonyms surly and glum are sometimes interchangeable, but surly implies gruffness and sullenness of speech or manner.

a typical surly teenager

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 One easy way to inject some lightness into a glum scenario is with some romance, and the arrival of a therapist named Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva) should keep Matt from getting too emo. Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2025 Here, the New York scenes are far too glum to coexist with the breezy maneuvering that’s happening in the present, and giving the lead an illusory disabled brother to talk to from time to time feels like the worst version of a wannabe Shyamalan twist. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 24 Feb. 2025 Still, Jon was glum on the trip back. Al Franken, TIME, 12 Feb. 2025 But after blanking at the Screen Actors Guild and BAFTAs, Kidman’s performance as a glum tech CEO who begins an office affair with young intern had lost too much momentum for Oscar recognition. J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 23 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for glum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for glum
Adjective
  • The observations from Drewry’s and Moody’s, as well as the scenario floated by McCown, follow a bleak outlook for the middle of May out of the biggest port in the U.S.
    Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 25 Apr. 2025
  • That followed a desperate period in which a bleak financial picture forced the resignation of CEO Anders Jensen.
    Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Though the courts have not invariably ruled against Trump, the Administration’s record so far is, to use one of the President’s favorite words, sad.
    Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
  • The sad story of Alex Verdugo was one of the most puzzling dramas of the MLB offseason.
    Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • There's an eclectic mix of jazz, big sweeping orchestral pieces, high energy electric guitars, and quiet, somber piano tunes.
    Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025
  • President Donald Trump is set to address the annual White House Easter Egg Roll hours after the death of Pope Francis, making for a somber backdrop for the light-hearted, kid-friendly affair.
    Joey Garrison, USA Today, 22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The detective here, blending a couple of characters from the book, is Inspector Leach, a depressed drinker so unkempt one wonders why he hasn’t been put on administrative leave.
    Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2025
  • To my dismay, the leader started feeling depressed rather than taking the actions that were most required.
    Sonal Jain, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • And even in what was a stilted match played in an increasingly irritable atmosphere, Rogers and Tielemans delivered with an assist each.
    Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
  • This stretch can worsen pain in people with back pain, very tight hamstrings, or irritable nerves.
    Aubrey Bailey, PT, DPT, CHT, Verywell Health, 4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Community service for an increasingly lonely, isolated society?
    Nate Rogers, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2025
  • According to recent Gallup data, approximately 20% of U.S. adults report feeling lonely every day.
    Dominique Fluker, Essence, 21 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Particularly now that Americans are unhappy with the state of economy.
    Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025
  • Some 59% of voters are unhappy with how things are going in the country.
    Dana Blanton, FOXNews.com, 23 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The four-run outing snapped a stretch of nine consecutive scoreless outings for the rookie, who was consoled by each member of this veteran bullpen in the cramped, sullen visiting clubhouse in Chicago.
    Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2025
  • Ramsey is reprising their role as Ellie, the sullen American teenager who is immune to the cordyceps fungus turning everyone else into zombies and who may, therefore, hold the key to humanity’s rescue.
    Zing Tsjeng, Vogue, 11 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Glum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/glum. Accessed 1 May. 2025.

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