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

• dourness noun
• dourly adverb

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 made Saudi Arabia a dour place and a fertile ground for extremism.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The entire affair is monotonously one-note and dour, with only a few pops of unintentional humor.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Readings below 50 indicate that home builders have a dour outlook in the near term for the single-family housing market.

Read more on Barron's

Dimon, often more willing than most to focus on the dour side, said he was concerned about how investors appeared nonchalant about risks in credit, although he acknowledged consumer defaults looked normal so far.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Friday’s dour mood gave way to new hope and optimism today.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

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