dour
Americanadjective
-
sullen
-
hard or obstinate
Synonym Usage
See glum.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dour
1325–75; Middle English, from Latin dūrus dure 1
Explanation
Dour describes something sullen, gloomy, or persistent. You might look dour on your way to picking up your last check from the job you just got fired from, and people should get out of your way. Dour and endure most likely come from the Latin word durus which means "hard." If something is hard to endure for a long enough time, it can make even the most happy-go-lucky person dour. Dour sounds like sour (or closer to "do-er"). It's a tomato/tamahto word, but either way — if you're in a sour mood, you have no sense of humor, and you're dour.
Vocabulary lists containing dour
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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More Negative Words to Describe a Person
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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.
And yet, the film fails to utilize either to its advantage, wasting great talent and a halfway-decent premise on mind-numbing dialogue, repetitive plotting and dour lighting.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
That has made the business of exercise one of the few bright spots in China’s generally dour consumer economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Adding to the dour mood was news Thursday that Washington would impose new tolls of 10-12.5 percent on dozens of trading partners -- including China and India -- over forced labour concerns.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Legally Blonde was "fun, fresh and brilliantly paced", she writes, but Elle is "dour, boring and tedious" despite its solid supporting cast, which includes James Van Der Beek in one of his final acting roles.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
Whatever it was, it was definitely dour and of a previous century, and only made worse with doily lace.
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
