dour

[ door, douuhr, dou-er ]
See synonyms for: dourdourness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. sullen; gloomy: The captain's dour look depressed us all.

  2. severe; stern: His dour criticism made us regret having undertaken the job.

  1. Scot. (of land) barren; rocky, infertile, or otherwise difficult or impossible to cultivate.

Origin of dour

1
1325–75; Middle English, from Latin dūrus dure1

synonym study For dour

1. See glum.

Other words for dour

Other words from dour

  • dourly, adverb
  • dourness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use dour in a sentence

  • Foe got up, smiling dourly, knocked out his pipe, and chose a fresh one from the mantelpiece.

    Foe-Farrell | Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
  • The others came in, Howell dourly and Graves wiping his moustache.

    The Machine That Saved The World | William Fitzgerald Jenkins

British Dictionary definitions for dour

dour

/ (dʊə, ˈdaʊə) /


adjective
  1. sullen

  2. hard or obstinate

Origin of dour

1
C14: probably from Latin dūrus hard

Derived 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