moping 1 of 2

adjective

as in brooding

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moping

2 of 2

verb

present participle of mope
1
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
2
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
  1. brooding
  2. lingering
  3. pouting
  4. irritable
  5. dragging
  6. sulking
  7. petulant
  8. delaying
Adjective
  • 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
  • The nose is brooding and complex, with black cherry, truffle, violet, and a seam of toasted oak.
    — Joseph V Micallef, Forbes.com, 17 June 2026
Definition of brooding
Verb
  • This season, our editors are savoring the activities that take us back to some of our favorite childhood days—jumping off docks, sliding down twisty pool slides, and lingering outside long into the evening.
    — Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 4 July 2026
  • Any strange or lingering foot symptoms, though, could be a sign of a bigger health condition.
    — Erica Sloan, Washington Post, 3 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
  • 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
  • Cancer could be affectionate and chatty one moment, and withdrawn and irritable the next, with little to no explanation.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 23 June 2026
Definition of irritable
Verb
  • On Tuesday, the roller-coaster ride for AI stocks whipped back down, dragging Wall Street lower.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 July 2026
  • With the process dragging on for months, the split of drama and comedy into separate departments, with Smith as head of the former, emerged as a likely scenario by mid-May.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 8 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
  • Their Ballon d’Or-winning winger Ousmane Dembele had the ball in his hands, a decoy to avoid unwanted attention on the actual taker Mbappe, and Dembele quite literally laughed in the face of the petulant Velazquez.
    — Adam Crafton, New York Times, 5 July 2026
  • Charles seemed highly strung and petulant, getting himself in a lather about the loss of a cufflink just before the pre-wedding ball at Buckingham Palace.
    — Simon Perry, PEOPLE, 18 June 2026
Definition of petulant
Verb
  • In May, the agency proposed delaying emission standards set to kick in for new light- and medium-duty cars and trucks starting with model year 2027.
    — Bloomberg, Oc Register, 9 July 2026
  • But, for older men with no pain or discomfort, doctors may suggest watchful waiting, delaying surgery until the need is clear.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 9 July 2026
Definition of delaying

Browse Nearby Words

mopey
moping
mopped
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Cite this Entry

“Moping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/moping. Accessed 13 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of moping for Spanish Speakers

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