sulkily

adverb

Definition of sulkilynext
as in sullenly

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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 sulkily The design is still in progress, and while NJ Transit has joined Amtrak in shaping the latest proposal, the MTA remains sulkily aloof. — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 8 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sulkily
  1. sullenly
  2. sternly
  3. glumly
  4. sourly
  5. mournfully
  6. sorrowfully
  7. dolefully
Adverb
  • Take, for example, Keanu Reeves, who was memeified after a photo of the actor sullenly eating a sandwich went viral.
    — Ben Pettis, The Conversation, 3 Apr. 2026
  • Like a fisherman left empty-handed after a heavy pull at her line, the woman sullenly took Sam’s picture.
    — Nora DeLigter, Curbed, 6 Mar. 2026
Definition of sullenly
Adverb
  • Colombia manager Hernan Dario Gomez had sternly instructed Sanchez to play clean and to avoid a potential red card.
    — Felipe Cardenas, New York Times, 7 July 2026
  • That church, by the way, is of the sternly Evangelical variety, and the Gheorghius take it very seriously indeed.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 18 May 2026
Definition of sternly
Adverb
  • If exceeding delivery targets fails to spark a rally, meeting or slightly beating bottom-line earnings will likely be greeted glumly by Wall Street.
    — Michael Khouw, CNBC, 20 July 2026
  • Three of the four arrived soberly dressed, one of them, Hodgkin, in a black suit, folded his arms and stared glumly ahead.
    — Robin Muir, Vogue, 12 June 2026
Definition of glumly
Adverb
  • Beckham's relationship with the organization ended sourly when he was traded to the Cleveland Browns.
    — Ernesto Cova, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2026
  • The game ended sourly for the Chargers, as the Rams, led by quarterback Stetson Bennett IV, drove 75 yards on 10 plays for the winning touchdown.
    — Daniel Popper, New York Times, 17 Aug. 2025
Definition of sourly
Adverb
  • Mayfield watched mournfully in his kitchen while the rest of the family sat in the living room with the big screen next to a Christmas tree.
    — John Romano, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 July 2026
  • So is the moment early in the film when Mary mournfully looks on as her long-ago home faces demolition to make room for a big, featureless residential complex.
    — Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 6 June 2026
Definition of mournfully
Adverb
  • Tarun would tease her, and my mother would look sorrowfully toward Kavitha, as if the two of them now shared some womanly burden.
    — Madhuri Vijay, New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2025
Definition of sorrowfully
Adverb
  • There’s ample gore and jumpy moments, but the true scariness here is of the forlorn kind; leads Joe Bird and Stacy Clausen play the mounting nightmare with ache and desperation, elevating the emotional tenor of a dolefully eerie movie.
    — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 31 Jan. 2026
Definition of dolefully

Browse Nearby Words

sulked
sulkily
sulkiness
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Cite this Entry

“Sulkily.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sulkily. Accessed 7 Aug. 2026.

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