as in sulky
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as in pouting
to silently go about in a bad mood
the toddler would sulk for hours whenever he didn't get his way
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sulking
Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2025
His owner shared a viral TikTok sound over the clip, from when another owner went through the very same thing with her own sulking dog.
—Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
Scott Meslow, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
Jets Mike McDaniel’s slow, sulking walk off the field was just sad, which about sums up the Dolphins this season.
—Chad Graff, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
Still, Brown did not spend his offseason sulking.
—Sean Gregory, TIME, 2 Oct. 2024
No one is going to get better by sulking.
—Jim Ingraham, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024
Adjective
Davis, wearing a particularly Bo Peep-y set of pink panniers, turns the character into a masterpiece of clownery, sulking delightfully and throwing magnificent tantrums while her arrangement of topknots—the hair designer is Robert Pickens—bounces on her head like a prize curly lamb.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2025
His owner shared a viral TikTok sound over the clip, from when another owner went through the very same thing with her own sulking dog.
—Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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
Jets Mike McDaniel’s slow, sulking walk off the field was just sad, which about sums up the Dolphins this season.
—Chad Graff, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
Still, Brown did not spend his offseason sulking.
—Sean Gregory, TIME, 2 Oct. 2024
No one is going to get better by sulking.
—Jim Ingraham, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sulking
Adjective
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After a strange courtship ritual—in which, as a favor to Liveright, Cerf accompanied the writer Theodore Dreiser to an afternoon baseball game that the latter man, bored, sulky, whisked them from around the sixth inning—Cerf took the job.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
25 Nov. 2025
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Still, Ortega’s performance proves that sulky, baleful gravity doesn’t have to lose its strange luster over time (a third season has already been announced).—
Tom Gliatto,
PEOPLE,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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He’s never been seen publicly pouting or seeming unhappy.—
Chris Perkins,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Jan. 2026
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At the bull riding, no one can have fun because Natalie is pouting because her fight attempt failed.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
31 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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While Nina’s 7-year-old daughter, Cece (Indiana Elle), is sullen, and her dreamboat husband, Andrew (Brandon Sklenar), is politely cautious about the prospect of a live-in housekeeper, Nina herself seems nice enough at first, if a little intense.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
19 Dec. 2025
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Shane, a wholesome Canadian, anchors his national team and is drafted by the Montreal Metros, while Russian team anchor Ilya is a seemingly sullen bad boy drafted by the Boston Raiders.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
26 Nov. 2025
Verb
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One mask depicts a frowning hobo with a 5 o'clock shadow that represents the aforementioned vagrant.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Dec. 2025
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Derek Hinkey’s character, the Shoshone warrior Red Feather, is almost always frowning at white settlers, looking undeniably foreboding with his face slathered in black paint and galloping on horseback into battle.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Part of me believes that, if Indiana wins, Cignetti should retire after this season and spend the rest of his life on a beach, scowling at resort attendants and being basically unimpeachable forever.—
Will Leitch,
New York Times,
6 Jan. 2026
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Picture Andy Warhol scowling in the corner of the billiards room.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
11 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sulking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sulking. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.
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