glum

[gluhm]

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adjective, glum·mer, glum·mest.

sullenly or silently gloomy; dejected.

Origin of glum

1425–75; late Middle English; variant of gloom

Related formsglum·ly, adverbglum·ness, noun

Synonyms for glum

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR glum ON THESAURUS.COM

moody, sulky; despondent, melancholy. 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.

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

Related Words for glumly

glumly, sadly, sorrowfully, despondently, forlornly, gloomily

Examples from the Web for glumly

Contemporary Examples of glumly

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
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
“Inundated, yeah,” Fitzpatrick says glumly, imagining what downtown will be like after the great earthquake.
Before the Rapture
Bryan Curtis
May 19, 2011

Historical Examples of glumly

Thorvald shook his head, scanning the rock face before them glumly.
Storm Over Warlock
Andre Norton
John raised the diminutive perch into the air and regarded it glumly.
A Son of the City
Herman Gastrell Seely
Kutuzov, his hands still pressed on the seat, glanced at him glumly.
War and Peace
Leo Tolstoy
He was convinced that the entire ticket-buying cue was glumly resenting him.
Free Air
Sinclair Lewis
"Guess I'll quirl me a brownie and git into the feathers," glumly.
The Dude Wrangler
Caroline Lockhart

British Dictionary definitions for glumly

glum

adjective glummer or glummest

silent or sullen, as from gloom

Derived Formsglumly, 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

Word Origin and History for glumly

glum

adj.

1540s, "sullen, frowning," from Middle English gloumen (v.) "become dark" (c.1300), later gloumben "look gloomy or sullen" (late 14c.); see gloom. Related: Glumly; glumness.