Synonyms

brooding

American

[broo-ding] / ˈbru dɪŋ /

adjective

preoccupied with depressing, morbid, or painful memories or thoughts.

a brooding frame of mind.
cast in subdued light so as to convey a somewhat threatening atmosphere.

Dusk fell on the brooding hills.

Other Word Forms

broodingly adverb
nonbrooding adjective
unbrooding adjective

Etymology

Origin of brooding

First recorded in 1810–20 brooding for def. 1; 1640–50 brooding for def. 2; brood + -ing ²

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Its character is somber and brooding, partly because of its materials—precast concrete, finely sandblasted to suggest dark gray stone—and partly because of the deep shadows they cast.

From The Wall Street Journal

O’Neill resolves the triangular conflict with a combination of religious fervor, metaphoric brooding and scabrous humor.

From Los Angeles Times

Manderley is the Cornwall estate of Maxim de Winter, Rebecca’s brooding widower.

From The Wall Street Journal

Caught in the grip of challenging sociopolitical backdrops, his magnetic and brooding men — whether bold authority figures, conflicted everyday guys, notorious outlaws or those in positions of power — represent an affront to the status quo.

From Los Angeles Times

While Mescal’s no stranger to playing the put-upon father in his relatively brief yet prolific career, his brooding verges on laughable.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023