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dour
[ door, douuhr, dou-er ]
/ dʊər, daʊər, ˈdaʊ ər /
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This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
adjective
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.
QUIZ
QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!
Were you ready for a quiz on this topic? Well, here it is! See how well you can differentiate between the uses of "was" vs. "were" in this quiz.
Question 1 of 7
“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.
Origin of dour
1325–75; Middle English, from Latin dūrus dure1
synonym study for dour
1. See glum.
OTHER WORDS FROM dour
dourly, adverbdourness, nounWords nearby dour
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use dour in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for dour
dour
/ (dʊə, ˈdaʊə) /
adjective
sullen
hard or obstinate
Derived forms of dour
dourly, adverbdourness, nounWord Origin for dour
C14: probably from Latin dūrus hard
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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