glum

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 WORDS FROM glum

glumly, adverbglumness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use glum in a sentence

One of these — Castiel — is a glum footnote that many fans will have a hard time accepting.
Supernatural’s bonkers series finale marked the end of an era of fandom|Aja Romano|November 20, 2020|Vox
Boyd glumly told him to go over to makeup, which was housed in a little cabin across the road.
The Stacks: Mr. Bad Taste and Trouble Himself: Robert Mitchum|Robert Ward|July 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The final chapter of the book is glumly titled "If Tax Reform Happens, It Will Be Because Grover Norquist Permits It."
David's Book Club: The Benefit and the Burden|Noah Kristula-Green|February 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Not that this would likely go anywhere either, he acknowledges glumly.
Supercommittee Sham: The Deadline and Trigger Farce|Michelle Cottle|November 18, 2011|DAILY BEAST

“Inundated, yeah,” Fitzpatrick says glumly, imagining what downtown will be like after the great earthquake.
Before the Rapture|Bryan Curtis|May 19, 2011|DAILY BEAST
“A deep political crisis of the Afghan society is obvious,” one participant glumly concluded.
What the Secret Documents Reveal|Dr. Cheryl Benard|November 4, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Seizing a shovel, Johnnie's father slowly dug his way to Twinkleheels, who had stopped struggling and was waiting glumly for help.
The Tale of Pony Twinkleheels|Arthur Scott Bailey
"Happy, you drive," he said, and Happy Jack turned without a word and climbed glumly up to the seat of the mess-wagon.
The Happy Family|Bertha Muzzy Bower
The other two nodded glumly and we set off downhill again, heading back towards home.
Little Brother|Cory Doctorow
"I can't very well find a cave in Antarctica and hide," I replied glumly.
Highways in Hiding|George Oliver Smith
Gordon hesitated, then swung glumly toward a corner where he could find a police call box.
Police Your Planet|Lester del Rey

British Dictionary definitions for glum

glum

/ (ɡlʌm) /

adjective glummer or glummest

silent or sullen, as from gloom

Derived forms of glum

glumly, adverbglumness, noun

Word Origin for glum

C16: variant of gloom

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

glum

OTHER WORDS FOR glum

Origin of glum

synonym study for glum

OTHER WORDS FROM glum

Words related to glum

How to use glum in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for glum

Derived forms of glum

Word Origin for glum