dour
sullen; gloomy: The captain's dour look depressed us all.
severe; stern: His dour criticism made us regret having undertaken the job.
Scot. (of land) barren; rocky, infertile, or otherwise difficult or impossible to cultivate.
Origin of dour
1synonym study For dour
Other words for dour
Other words from dour
- dourly, adverb
- dourness, noun
Words Nearby dour
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use dour in a sentence
The tasting became known as the Judgment of Paris and was portrayed in the 2008 movie “Bottle Shock,” in which the jovial Spurrier was played by a dour Alan Rickman.
Steven Spurrier blew up the wine world with the Judgment of Paris. His legacy lives on. | Dave McIntyre | March 19, 2021 | Washington PostSnyder grabbed the football where Nolan left it and sprinted ahead with an even more dour fictional world in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman.
The Snyder Cut Is a Better Version of Justice League. But It Sets a Dangerous Precedent | Eliana Dockterman | March 15, 2021 | TimeOccasionally dour analyst Stacy Rasgon at Bernstein Research tried to temper the joy somewhat.
Gin and short dresses defeated dour concern with the world’s problems.
The dour among us might point out that such parallels can only go so far.
This decline, not surprisingly, has engendered a dour mood among much of the yeomanry.
In the Future We'll All Be Renters: America's Disappearing Middle Class | Joel Kotkin | August 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd so the Libyan revolution was intoxicating, which is why the world watched it much more closely than the dour Syrian struggle.
It’s Not the USA that Made Libya the Disaster it is Today | Ann Marlowe | August 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTQueen Victoria had the reputation of being a humorless, dour battleaxe, a Terminator in bombazine.
His substitutions had no impact, his halftime team talks were ineffective, and his on-field strategy remained dour.
While it was a lifetime achievement for Goebel, it was another dour disappointment for Kwan: another Olympics and no gold medal.
Figure Skater Michelle Kwan Chases Gold in Rhode Island’s Gubernatorial Race | Nicholas McCarvel | April 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe reached the town in a dour mood of unrest, spite of the promise of wealth he carried in his pocket.
Cabin Fever | B. M. BowerAfter daring and trying and tiring, these dour men eventually turned adre, which is Cornish for homeward.
Archaic England | Harold BayleyThornton's as dour as a door-nail; an obstinate chap, every inch on him,—th' oud bulldog!'
North and South | Elizabeth Cleghorn GaskellThrough the garden with lowered eyes, past a dour-looking priest with a small paunch.
The Jewels of Aptor | Samuel R. DelanyPossibly these melancholy matters heightened the dour mood of my new friend, who stayed silent.
Where the Pavement Ends | John Russell
British Dictionary definitions for dour
/ (dʊə, ˈdaʊə) /
sullen
hard or obstinate
Origin of dour
1Derived forms of dour
- dourly, adverb
- dourness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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