Dictionary.com
definitions

dour

[ door, douuhr, dou-er ]
/ dʊər, daʊər, ˈdaʊ ər /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dour ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

RELATED WORDS

simplicity, severity, bareness, economy, plainness, spareness, baldness, primitiveness, spartanism

Nearby words

  1. doumergue, gaston,
  2. doun,
  3. dounreay,
  4. doup,
  5. douppioni,
  6. doura,
  7. dourine,
  8. dourly,
  9. douro,
  10. douroucouli

Origin of dour

1325–75; Middle English < Latin dūrus dure1
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 dourness

British Dictionary definitions for dourness

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 dourness

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper