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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

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 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
  • Afternoon highs on Friday are expected to be a much cooler 57 degrees as a 40% chance of rainfall lingers in the area.
    — Hali Smith, Idaho Statesman, 20 Oct. 2026
  • That rinse-clean standard matters for anyone worried about buildup, since a scalp oil that lingers after washing can leave hair looking greasy rather than nourished.
    — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of lingers
Verb
  • Nobody slouches in a great suit like West, and nobody scowls in a gorgeous coat like Miller.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Suzanne, the sulky, artistic type, scowls and pointedly ignores their noisy energy.
    — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of scowls
Verb
  • Try to keep that in mind the next time your kid drags you to some terrible Star Wars thing that nobody asked for.
    — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The deadpan family comedy follows a 63-year-old man who drags nine relatives on a one-day tour of nine temples after a fortune teller warns that his mother will soon die.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 21 Oct. 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
  • Even if Illinois delays its natural gas plant closings, the state will need more batteries, and Richardson is rushing to provide them.
    — John Lippert, Chicago Tribune, 14 Oct. 2026
  • In this scenario, the heart attack now drives the pricing, while the prostate cancer delays the application.
    — Howard Wolinsky, STAT, 7 Oct. 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
  • There’s also a less than 10% chance of showers, if one of the hurricanes crawls farther up the coast, according to Wofford.
    — Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Definition of crawls

Browse Nearby Words

moped
mopes
mopey
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of disparate

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All