MOPING Synonyms: 174 Similar and Opposite Words

moping 1 of 2

adjective

as in brooding

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Dissimilar Words

moping

2 of 2

verb

present participle of mope

as in lingering

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

as in pouting

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 moping

Verb

Duke, whose time in the pub is spent either moping or getting hyped up by his aunt Kaulo doing her best Lady Macbeth. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026 In other words, if Hollywood had an awards show for public corruption trials, this case would be at home watching it and moping that it didn’t get nominated. — Susan Shelley, Oc Register, 1 Feb. 2026 Koko storms off and spends the rest of the evening moping about the interaction. — Jihan Forbes, Allure, 29 Oct. 2025 In June the McCoys went back to Bloomington and Catherine spent the summer moping. — Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2025 One week, a colleague noticed Packard moping around the office and asked what was wrong. — Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025 Rather than moping about, get your shop on with one or all of these many holiday sales. — Averi Baudler, People.com, 22 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for moping

Adjective

Though Hunt and Pacquin rightly won all the plaudits, Neill memorably played the brooding and jealous Alisdair.

— Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 13 July 2026
Drawn from the same writing sessions that produced Love Is Not Enough, released in February, Hum of Hurt is the darker and more brooding sibling.

— Alex Robert Ross, Pitchfork, 24 June 2026

Definition of brooding

Verb

Lee’s elbow guard protected him from being hit directly on the bone, but Vitello said there was still some lingering soreness.

— Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 26 July 2026
Some residents expressed concerns about pollution, the traffic congestion, the dangers of errant drivers around kids and the lingering aroma of frying food.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2026

Definition of lingering

Verb

Some people will probably be pouting in those debriefs.

— Jeff Gluck, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2026
My introduction to Peters came late last year, when Instagram’s algorithm served me a video of him wearing a baseball cap, primping and pouting for the camera.

— Thomas Chatterton Williams, The Atlantic, 19 Jan. 2026

Definition of pouting

Adjective

Perelman said people who have weakened immune systems and those with irritable bowel disease may want to talk to their doctors before incorporating the foods into their diet.

— Devi Shastri, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026
The symptoms are so delayed that people often blame them on food poisoning, irritable-bowel syndrome, gluten intolerance.

— Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 29 June 2026

Definition of irritable

Verb

The European Space Agency’s ClearSpace-1, planned for 2029, tackles the harder case by capturing the unprepared, noncooperative Proba-1 satellite and dragging it down to burn up.

— Wanjiku Chebet Kanjumba, The Conversation, 22 July 2026
Lebanon's top political leadership criticized Hezbollah for dragging the country into another war, but also condemned Israel for its widespread bombing and ground invasion.

— ABC News, ABC News, 22 July 2026

Definition of dragging

Verb

But nothing good came from sulking.

— Spencer Nusbaum, New York Times, 19 May 2026
With that goal in mind, Dijkstra has constructed a scheme to ensure that King Radovid stops drinking and sulking over Jaskier and embraces his role as one of the few remaining leaders who can oppose Emhyr’s army.

— Scott Meslow, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025

Definition of sulking

Adjective

But while Argentina was being petty and petulant, Spain was practically perfect in every way.

— Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026
Lestat walks us through his reawakening in yet another moment where the show chooses to tell rather than show, culminating in a confrontation with Gabriella, positioned here as the overbearing stage mother to Lestat’s petulant toddler in a tiara.

— Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 20 July 2026

Definition of petulant

Verb

When these systems are under-resourced, investigations become more difficult, delaying interventions that protect the public.

— Omer Awan, Forbes.com, 24 July 2026
The court will sit in September to decide whether to strike down the statutory foundation of the inquiry, delaying one of South Africa’s biggest political risks.

— Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 24 July 2026

Definition of delaying

Browse Nearby Words

mopey

moping

mopped

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Style

“Moping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/moping. Accessed 27 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of moping

adjective

verb

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