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• moody
  moody

  adjective

  given to gloomy, depressed, or sullen moods; ill-humored.
• Moody
  Moody

  noun

  Dwight Lyman 1837–99, U.S. evangelist.

moody

¹ American  

[moo-dee] / ˈmu di /

adjective

• moodier,
  comparative
• moodiest
  superlative

1. given to gloomy, depressed, or sullen moods; ill-humored.

   Synonyms:

   brooding, morose, sulky

2. proceeding from or showing such a mood.

   a moody silence.

3. expressing or exhibiting sharply varying moods; temperamental.

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Moody ² American  

[moo-dee] / ˈmu di /

noun

1. Dwight Lyman 1837–99, U.S. evangelist.

2. Helen Wills. Wills, Helen Newington.

3. William Vaughn 1869–1910, U.S. poet and playwright.

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moody ¹ British  

/ ˈmuːdɪ /

adjective

1. sullen, sulky, or gloomy

2. temperamental or changeable

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Moody ² British  

/ ˈmuːdɪ /

noun

1. Dwight Lyman. 1837–99, US evangelist and hymnodist, noted for his revivalist campaigns in Britain and the US with I. D. Sankey

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• moodiness
  noun
• unmoody
  adjective
• moodily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

• moodier
  comparative
• moodiest
  superlative

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Etymology

Origin of moody

before 900; Middle English mody, Old English mōdig. See mood ¹, -y ¹

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Explanation

If you're in a bad mood, especially when you were in a pretty good mood this morning, you can say you're moody. A moody person's emotions change unpredictably and often. Someone with erratic moods is moody — you could also call them temperamental or changeable. If you describe a painting or a piece of music as moody, you probably mean that it has a dark, gloomy nature. A moody play, for example, might be a little depressing, or at least melancholy. Moody, from the Old English modig, began by meaning "arrogant or proud," and around the late sixteenth century became "subject to gloomy spells."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

moody Moody moodier moodiest

The soft green remains in the primary bedroom, which also features moody fabrics, such as a tapestry hanging on the wall and heavy patterned curtains.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026

Where Tumblr-ites dreamed of the cloistered quads and moody libraries of Princeton in the 2010s, TikTok-ers now obsess over the elaborate rituals of University of Alabama sororities.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

Bella Ramsey spent many teenage years working with adults so never really went through the moody, rebellious phase often associated with being a teenager.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

The title of “Eternal Dreamer,” a moody, drone-based offering, evokes that of “Dream Weaver,” a 1966 album by his landmark quartet with pianist Keith Jarrett, bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Jack DeJohnette.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

Sami was moody and bossy and didn't want to have anything to do with me.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

Still, Regions Financial chief economist Richard Moody said supply challenges like the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, tariffs and a shortage of workers in some industries have been a bigger driver of inflation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

On Thursday, the two acts will perform together for the first time for Musgraves’ Middle of Nowhere tour at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

The inquest in Crook heard the building's owner, Peter Moody, was pulling up floorboards in the second floor living room when he saw an object wrapped in old brown paper.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

It also criticized the office of then-Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody for failing to exercise sufficient oversight of the settlement.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

Pearl, meanwhile, did the exact reverse, walking with Moody to his house, lounging in the sunroom with the three oldest Richardson children.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

"He's moodier," she says, adding he spends more time playing video games than before.

From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2026

“Midnights,” from 2022, was a little moodier than 2024’s “The Tortured Poets Department,” which was a little wordier than its predecessor, but both operated within a relatively narrow template.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2025

Based on the books of Ann Cleeves, whose work is also the basis for the even moodier, broodier series “Shetland,” “Vera” is a cerebral, as opposed to violent or troubling, crime drama.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2025

There’s also a moodier side to him that you get peeks of in his stand-up but that probably deserves fuller expression.

From New York Times ● Feb. 20, 2024

The weather’s grown moodier since I fell asleep.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

He works through his grandfather’s illness and eventual demise on “God Laughs,” the moodiest and most haunting song of the project.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 16, 2022

The album, their third and moodiest, was a distinct, post-punk swerve away from the hip-hop and breakbeat culture they had championed in Bristol.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 17, 2019

Is it any wonder that the soundtrack of some of my moodiest college days was the second movement of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, with its sad and wintry string variations?

From New York Times ● Sep. 6, 2018

Chugging guitars set the tone for the rest of the album, which is their moodiest and most energetic since the reunion with Sprout.

From Time ● Feb. 21, 2014

For two weeks past, there has been a blandness and mellowness in the atmosphere, which was enough to cause the moodiest heart to sing for joy.

From Old Mackinaw The Fortress of the Lakes and its Surroundings by W. P. (William Peter) Strickland

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