dour

[door, dou^uhr, dou-er]

adjective

1. sullen; gloomy.

   The captain's dour look depressed us all.

   Synonyms: moody, sour, morose

2. severe; stern.

   His dour criticism made us regret having undertaken the job.

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

dour

/ ˈdaʊə, dʊə /

adjective

1. sullen

2. hard or obstinate

Other Word Forms

• dourly adverb
• dourness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of dour¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of dour¹

C14: probably from Latin dūrus hard

Synonym Study

See glum.

Example Sentences

That shift led to exhibitions in multiple Smithsonian museums that took dour perspectives about America’s past and present.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

“The Details” is a crucial moment on the album, an acknowledgment, with a dour fiddle and harp, that communication may be forever broken.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Enduring the dour drudgery of “Last Rites,” it’s never been clearer that it’s time to give up the ghost.

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Currie says that while Scots can be dour and cynical, underneath there’s often “a romantic optimism that the world is a beautiful place and that there is poetry in the world.”

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I have to admit, to me, it looks a little bit dour – but it packs some original tech.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• bleak 
• glum 
• harsh 
• morose 
• sullen 
• surly