Synonyms of surly

surly

adjective

ˈsər-lē 

1

as in pouting

given to or displaying a resentful silence and often irritability

went about his chores in a surly huff, totally annoyed that he was stuck at home on this beautiful Saturday

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pouting
• irritable
• sullen
• sulky
• pouty
• glum
• brooding
• mopey
• irascible
• sensitive
• grumpy
• cross
• morose
• petulant
• dour
• snappish
• grouchy
• peevish
• crotchety
• cantankerous
• disagreeable
• gloomy
• crabby
• testy
• waspish
• snarky
• cranky
• ornery
• pettish
• snippy
• choleric
• raspy
• short-tempered
• dyspeptic
• bilious
• tetchy
• ill-tempered
• quick-tempered
• ratty
• perverse
• temperamental
• prickly
• huffy
• ill-humored
• ill-natured
• snappy
• snippety
• touchy
• moping
• bearish
• thin-skinned

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• cheerful
• sociable
• cheery
• good-natured
• perky
• sunny
• carefree
• easygoing
• good-humored
• good-tempered
• relaxed
• gladsome
• happy-go-lucky

2

as in irritable

having or showing a habitually bad temper

the surly receptionist told us we'd have to wait outside in the rain

Synonyms & Similar Words

• irritable
• angry
• cantankerous
• ornery
• disagreeable
• exasperated
• dyspeptic
• splenetic
• bilious
• ill-tempered
• acid
• mad
• ill-humored
• indignant
• ill-natured
• bloody-minded
• grumpy
• upset
• irascible
• bearish
• querulous
• petulant
• grouchy
• crotchety
• snappish
• peevish
• crabby
• depressed
• irate
• testy
• contentious
• uptight
• sullen
• peppery
• cranky
• choleric
• morose
• short-tempered
• snippy
• dour
• cussed
• touchy
• argumentative
• quick-tempered
• contrary
• fussy
• anal
• glum
• schoolmarmish
• old-maidish

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• amiable
• friendly
• pleasant
• agreeable
• sweet
• congenial
• gentle
• nice
• benign
• kind
• amicable
• good-natured
• cheerful
• happy
• good-humored
• exuberant
• good-tempered
• cheery
• joyful
• glad
• vivacious
• bubbly
• lively
• effervescent
• content
• lighthearted
• calm
• patient
• placid
• serene
• tolerant
• high-spirited
• long-suffering

Synonym Chooser

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

Some common synonyms of surly are crabbed, gloomy, glum, morose, saturnine, sulky, and sullen. While all these words mean "showing a forbidding or disagreeable mood," surly implies gruffness and sullenness of speech or manner.

a typical surly teenager

When is it sensible to use crabbed instead of surly?

While in some cases nearly identical to surly, crabbed applies to a forbidding morose harshness of manner.

the school's notoriously crabbed headmaster

When is gloomy a more appropriate choice than surly?

The words gloomy and surly 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 might glum be a better fit than surly?

The synonyms glum and surly are sometimes interchangeable, but 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 surly?

Morose adds to glum an element of bitterness or misanthropy.

morose job seekers who are inured to rejection

When could saturnine be used to replace surly?

While the synonyms saturnine and surly are close in meaning, saturnine describes a heavy forbidding aspect or suggests a bitter disposition.

a saturnine cynic always finding fault

When can sulky be used instead of surly?

The meanings of sulky and surly largely overlap; however, sulky suggests childish resentment expressed in peevish sullenness.

grew sulky after every spat

In what contexts can sullen take the place of surly?

In some situations, the words sullen and surly are roughly equivalent. However, sullen implies a silent ill humor and a refusal to be sociable.

remained sullen amid the festivities

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of surly

Heathcliff is surly, cruel, and vindictive. —Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 12 Feb. 2026

Mandating a coach keep a coordinator, particularly one with Schwartz’s surly reputation, seems counterintuitive — particularly to a young, first-time coach such as Scheelhaase. —Jason Lloyd, New York Times, 30 Jan. 2026

Screenwriters Matthew Booi and Shelby Gaines weave subtle humor — and more overt racial politics — into the way the surly group engage with one another. —Peter Debruge, Variety, 27 Jan. 2026

Arrigo, instead, surly and withdrawn as always, mumbled those incomprehensible phrases of his—not that anyone paid him any attention, not even his wife. —Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026

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