Synonym Chooser

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

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

a saturnine cynic always finding fault

When is crabbed a more appropriate choice than saturnine?

The synonyms crabbed and saturnine are sometimes interchangeable, but crabbed applies to a forbidding morose harshness of manner.

the school's notoriously crabbed headmaster

In what contexts can gloomy take the place of saturnine?

The words gloomy and saturnine are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, gloomy implies a depression in mood making for seeming sullenness or glumness.

a gloomy mood ushered in by bad news

When can glum be used instead of saturnine?

While the synonyms glum and saturnine are close in meaning, glum suggests a silent dispiritedness.

a glum candidate left to ponder a stunning defeat

How do morose and glum relate to one another, in the sense of saturnine?

Morose adds to glum an element of bitterness or misanthropy.

morose job seekers who are inured to rejection

When could sulky be used to replace saturnine?

In some situations, the words sulky and saturnine are roughly equivalent. However, sulky suggests childish resentment expressed in peevish sullenness.

grew sulky after every spat

When would sullen be a good substitute for saturnine?

Although the words sullen and saturnine have much in common, sullen implies a silent ill humor and a refusal to be sociable.

remained sullen amid the festivities

Where would surly be a reasonable alternative to saturnine?

The words surly and saturnine can be used in similar contexts, 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 saturnine The mood is too saturnine, the occasional nods to social criticism too stilted. Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for saturnine
Adjective
  • However, while circumstances were smooth-sailing at the start, things quickly took a somber turn on July 2, 1937.
    Yasmeen Hamadeh, People.com, 2 July 2025
  • His overjoyed demeanor starkly contrasted with his somber appearance in court just a day before when jurors said they were deadlocked on one of the five counts.
    Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 2 July 2025
Adjective
  • Adolescents whose career or education decisions are steered by their parents often experience school burnout, increased anxiety, and depressive symptoms.
    Glenn Llopis, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
  • Early phases of the trial showed a significant, 60 percent remission in depressive symptoms after eight weeks.
    John Semley, Rolling Stone, 19 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • During that bleak era, Che-Chung Tsai, a researcher at the University of Washington, contacted several companies, seeking experimental drugs for use in an animal study.
    Jon Cohen, New Yorker, 24 June 2025
  • That said, Google’s latest survey paints a bleak picture.
    Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
Adjective
  • Executive Chef Graham House and Chef de Cuisine Graham House of Luminosa in Asheville, NC, recommend using a whole roast chicken, both dark and white meat, but placing half of it in the food processor before hand shredding the remaining bits for texture.
    Catherine Jessee, Southern Living, 27 June 2025
  • My challenge was to make the sequel scarier, and darker.
    Sweta Kaushal, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025
Adjective
  • While Bowie envisioned an Earth careening toward apocalypse in a flamboyant, theatrical cry, Drake’s five leaves are quieter, lonelier — more like the end of a season than the end of a world.
    arkansasonline.com, arkansasonline.com, 5 July 2025
  • By January, Musk had transitioned to lieutenant, making up DOGE, complete with cringey swag, like a lonely preteen dreaming up a secret club in his tree house.
    Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2025
Adjective
  • And on that depressing thought, that's how Squid Game ended.
    EW.com, EW.com, 27 June 2025
  • That’s a depressing setup, but the film is a lot gentler.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 June 2025
Adjective
  • For starters, no one would ever describe them as empty or desolate.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 June 2025
  • Of the 14 missiles, 13 were intercepted, with the final munition allowed to land harmlessly in a desolate area.
    Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 24 June 2025
Adjective
  • The morbid spectacle spawned podcasts, documentaries and multiple changes to state law.
    Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 8 June 2025
  • There’s also the morbid curiosity about Brian’s death.
    Tyler Hicks, Rolling Stone, 5 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Saturnine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/saturnine. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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