mopes 1 of 2

plural noun

as in sadness
a state or spell of low spirits he's got the mopes because his girlfriend is mad at him

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

mopes

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of mope
1
as in lingers
to move or act slowly we were in a rush, and the Sunday driver in front of us was just moping along

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in pouts
to silently go about in a bad mood she's been moping all weekend because her boyfriend hasn't called even once

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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 mopes
Verb
At the conclusion of the episode, Greg mopes at home, tossing pennies into a jar from afar. — Erin Qualey, Vulture, 23 Mar. 2026 Freshly ditched by his friends, Chris mopes, dejected, as his mother drives. — Hannah Bae, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 July 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mopes
  1. dumps
  2. lingers
  3. scowls
  4. drags
  5. frowns
  6. delays
  7. sulks
  8. crawls
Plural Noun
  • The production, directed by Simon Godwin from a version by David Eldridge, takes a while to find itself, perhaps because Ibsen dumps exposition into an unbearably clunky first scene or because the play doesn’t introduce its heart, Hedvig, for nearly half an hour.
    — Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2025
  • Volatile markets have put investment banking in the dumps, but there is a silver lining for Wall Street banks.
    — Charley Grant, WSJ, 13 Jan. 2023
Definition of dumps
Verb
  • Nearly the entire group lingers in the living room—playing chess, swapping stories, exchanging photos.
    — Johanna Wolfe, Robb Report, 22 Aug. 2026
  • As attendees make their way out of the venue, excitement lingers through the air.
    — Kailyn Brown, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of lingers
Verb
  • However, there has been a growing edge to Denver’s current group, personified on the field in the way safety Talanoa Hufanga flies to the ball and in the way Cooper scowls under his eye black.
    — Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
  • How often do smiles express happiness and scowls express anger?
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 27 Mar. 2020
Definition of scowls
Verb
  • Some of those embassy staff may start returning to their posts soon, however the State Department is still limiting the number of personnel in the Middle East as the war in Iran drags on.
    — Greg Dixon, NPR, 21 Aug. 2026
  • But after years of unprecedented contributions to astronomy, the forces governing the cosmos are finally taking their toll as Earth’s gravitational pull slowly drags the telescope closer towards a point of no return.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of drags
Verb
  • Don’t Kill Reach with External Links Like any business that makes money from advertising, LinkedIn frowns upon directing people away from LinkedIn to another site.
    — William Arruda, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
  • Here is our review of a 2025-26 campaign that’s ended with more smiles than frowns.
    — Carl Anka, New York Times, 26 May 2026
Definition of frowns
Verb
  • Nearly all report that the process contributes to burnout and delays care.
    — Richard Menger MD MPA, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Cellphone use before bed delays the natural drop in cortisol that teenagers need to fall asleep, according to Alice Hoagland, PhD, director of the Insomnia Clinic at the Rochester Regional Sleep Disorder Center.
    — Samantha Agate, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of delays
Verb
  • In the corner, a young John Adams sulks, uninterested in the dancing and gossip and instead opting to smoke a pipe and watch.
    — Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 26 June 2026
  • When Ray lavishes attention on another biker’s pet pillion, Kevin (Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters), Colin sulks until his master unzips his trousers and gives him a treat.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Definition of sulks
Verb
  • Hairy-nosed wombat births are hard to spot, as after about a 30-day pregnancy, the joey crawls into its mother’s pouch.
    — Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Researchers have developed a new control framework that enables humanoid robots to perform agile movements, including army crawls, breakdancing and backflips.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of crawls

Browse Nearby Words

moped
mopes
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Cite this Entry

“Mopes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mopes. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

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