dour

[ door, douuhr, dou-er ]

/ dʊər, daʊər, ˈdaʊ ər /

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.

Nearby words

doumergue, gaston, doun, dounreay, doup, douppioni, dourly, doura, dourine, dourly, douro, douroucouli

Origin of dour

1325–75; Middle English < Latin dūrus dure¹

SYNONYMS FOR dour

1 morose, sour, moody. See glum.

Related formsdour·ly, adverbdour·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dourly

"Leonid Plekhanov is no longer with us," Chessman said dourly.
Adaptation|Dallas McCord Reynolds
Oh, it was a dourly tragical young man who shared Mr. Smith's bedroom during the next few months.
The Record of Nicholas Freydon|A. J. (Alec John) Dawson
Up forward, one of the crew-cuts plucked a guitar, and Terry could imagine Doug dourly trying to read poetry despite the noise.
Creatures of the Abyss|Murray Leinster
"It's me," I said dourly, and I dropped my hands into a more convenient position.
The Lost Valley|J. M. Walsh

He became unreasonable or dourly despondent, and every change was marked by moods and tempers that affected the whole household.
Playing With Fire|Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr

British Dictionary definitions for dourly

dour

/ (dʊə, ˈdaʊə) /

adjective

sullen

hard or obstinate

Derived Formsdourly, adverbdourness, noun

Word Origin for dour

C14: probably from Latin dūrus hard

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for dourly

dour

adj.

mid-14c., "severe," from Scottish and northern England dialect, probably from Latin durus "hard" (see endure); sense of "gloomy, sullen" is late 15c.