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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 surly
This is exactly the productive, surly, still-in-his-prime player this team needs down the middle.
—
Scott Powers, New York Times, 14 June 2025
Lars was originally a surly teen of Beach City, but he was eventually abducted to the Gem Homeworld.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 12 June 2025
This is because, little under a year after being handed a landslide majority by the U.K. electorate, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government is deeply unpopular and thrashing around for ways to appease a surly and resentful public.
—Ian King, CNBC, 11 June 2025
The third reason to slip the surly bonds of Earth is that our air is extremely good at shielding us from many wavelengths of light our eyes cannot see.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 29 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for surly
Scott Powers, New York Times, 14 June 2025
Lars was originally a surly teen of Beach City, but he was eventually abducted to the Gem Homeworld.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 12 June 2025
This is because, little under a year after being handed a landslide majority by the U.K. electorate, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government is deeply unpopular and thrashing around for ways to appease a surly and resentful public.
—Ian King, CNBC, 11 June 2025
The third reason to slip the surly bonds of Earth is that our air is extremely good at shielding us from many wavelengths of light our eyes cannot see.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 29 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for surly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surly
Adjective
-
He was adopted two weeks later, but after 18 months in his home, Scoob developed a painful skin condition that caused his ears to bleed and left him extremely irritable.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Instead, Helen is allowed to be irritable and anti-social, chain-smoking and snappish, without the filmmaker casting judgment.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Mark, with his fighting regimen, is a lot to handle, but so is Dawn, who’s a rather sullen party-girl princess.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
1 Sep. 2025
-
The President is a sullen bore, but Servillo’s performance is always a hair less moribund than the movie around it, and held tight by the sincerity of his ambivalence.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
27 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
But Newsom seems to have found his footing nationally by catering to angry anti-Trump Democrats, his conciliatory remarks in the aftermath of Kirk’s shooting notwithstanding.—
W. James Antle III,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
-
For example, long wait times, high prices and confusing models have left people angry with the car sales industry.—
Brandon Aversano,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
Founder Max Siegelman drew upon his family’s harness racing roots thanks to the boarding and teaching facility for the sport involving the powerful animal, a sulky and human direction that dates to the 1800s in the US.—
Roxanne Robinson,
Forbes.com,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Tudyk played Sonny, a robot who helps the cantankerous detective uncover the truth behind his creator's death.—
Taijuan Moorman,
USA Today,
12 Aug. 2025
-
Advertisement Johnson anticipates more challenges from his cantankerous colleagues.—
Eric Cortellessa,
Time,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The formula gets bonus points for not feeling sticky, not traveling or feathering, and smoothing out lip lines for a plump, pouty effect.—
Sophia Panych,
Allure,
16 Sep. 2025
-
The passengers include several other mountain trekkers, among them an American professor (Bernard Curry) and his teenage daughter, Starr (Grace O’Sullivan), the latter’s nature instantly signified by her pouty demeanor and inability to put away her cell phone.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
26 June 2025
Adjective
-
That ornery cleric was Moqtada al-Sadr, the son of Mohammad Sadiq al-Sadr, a grand ayatollah assassinated almost certainly by Saddam’s order in 1999.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
-
Their aggressive, ornery, and unpredictable nature has earned them the nickname Black Death.—
Kris Millgate,
Outdoor Life,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Over the weekend, reports emerged that the higher tariffs followed a disagreeable Thursday phone call between Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter and Trump — which Swiss officials rejected, according to Reuters.—
Sophie Kiderlin,Jenni Reid,
CNBC,
4 Aug. 2025
-
Trump and his supporters prefer a happy history, a pleasant history that arouses patriotism by overlooking disagreeable people and despicable events that sully the nation’s reputation and mar the magnificence of the American story.—
William C. Hine,
Twin Cities,
23 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Surly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surly. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share