glum
Americanadjective
adjective
Synonym Usage
Glum, morose, sullen, dour, surly all are adjectives describing a gloomy, unsociable attitude. Glum describes a depressed, spiritless condition or manner, usually temporary rather than habitual: a glum shrug of the shoulders; a glum, hopeless look in his eye. Morose, which adds to glum a sense of bitterness, implies a habitual and pervasive gloominess: a sour, morose manner; morose withdrawal from human contact. Sullen usually implies reluctance or refusal to speak accompanied by glowering looks expressing anger or a sense of injury: a sullen manner, silence, look. Dour refers to a stern and forbidding aspect, stony and unresponsive: dour rejection of friendly overtures. Surly implies gruffness of speech and manner, usually accompanied by an air of injury and ill temper: a surly reply.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of glum
1425–75; late Middle English; variant of gloom
Explanation
To be glum is to be sad. Glum is a word for being depressed, bummed out, or down in the dumps. People who are glum are sometimes said to be sullen, brooding, morose, and moody. Glum folks don't smile, giggle, or laugh — and they're rarely seen holding balloons. Being glum is a little more outward-directed than just being sad. To be glum is to act sad in front of other people, almost like you want them to ask, "Why so glum?"
Vocabulary lists containing glum
Bud, Not Buddy
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List 8
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Even 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.
See Examples For:
It helps explain why consumers feel so glum.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
In England, whether it's migration, making ends meet, or disappointment with Starmer, the mood is generally very glum.
From BBC ● May 2, 2026
Don’t expect us to remain upset or all feel glum at the same time.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 1, 2026
The Agnus Dei begins in glum realization that there may be no compensation for humanity’s great sins when, again astonishingly without expectation, one of Beethoven’s uniquely wondrous melodies takes over.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2026
She looked glum after that, and I felt sorry that I’d crushed her hopes.
From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia
Even glummer is Lawrence Osborne’s 2018 novel, “Only to Sleep,” in which a 72-year-old Marlowe, retired to Baja California, decides to take one more shuffle down the mean streets of crime.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 9, 2022
Jon looks even glummer than usual—and even more so when Arya reminds him that Dany is dangerous.
From The New Yorker ● May 20, 2019
These stories had fascinating characters, complex, gritty settings, messy morality, and, perhaps most importantly, a great sense of humor — unlike the somewhat glummer Conan created by Robert E. Howard.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2019
Idamante: I'm feeling much glummer / That's one hell of a bummer.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 24, 2010
He flew straight into a painting of a glum man on a glummer horse, put a claw through the man’s nose, and dropped to the windowsill, peeping in pain and fear.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
The Ukrainian intelligence officer suggested that a prisoner had drawn his home on the cell wall to pass the time or perhaps cheer himself up in this glummest of places.
From New York Times ● Nov. 16, 2022
No. 3 Michigan became the glummest 10-2 team extant.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 26, 2016
The glummest of its titles are revealing, even if they don’t tell the full story: “The Bottom Is As Low As You Can Go,” “Never Win,” “One Who Lost.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2014
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell Why people don't read it: It's the glummest dystopia imaginable.
From The Guardian ● May 21, 2010
She had the glummest face Harry had ever seen, half-hidden behind lank hair and thick, pearly spectacles.
From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling
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.
