Jump To:

• moody
  moody

  adjective

  given to gloomy, depressed, or sullen moods; ill-humored.
• Moody
  Moody

  noun

  Dwight Lyman 1837–99, U.S. evangelist.

moody

¹ American  

[moo-dee] / ˈmu di /

adjective

• moodier,
  comparative
• moodiest
  superlative

1. given to gloomy, depressed, or sullen moods; ill-humored.

   Synonyms:

   brooding, morose, sulky

2. proceeding from or showing such a mood.

   a moody silence.

3. expressing or exhibiting sharply varying moods; temperamental.

---

Moody ² American  

[moo-dee] / ˈmu di /

noun

1. Dwight Lyman 1837–99, U.S. evangelist.

2. Helen Wills. Wills, Helen Newington.

3. William Vaughn 1869–1910, U.S. poet and playwright.

---

moody ¹ British  

/ ˈmuːdɪ /

adjective

1. sullen, sulky, or gloomy

2. temperamental or changeable

---

Moody ² British  

/ ˈmuːdɪ /

noun

1. Dwight Lyman. 1837–99, US evangelist and hymnodist, noted for his revivalist campaigns in Britain and the US with I. D. Sankey

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• moodiness
  noun
• unmoody
  adjective
• moodily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

• moodier
  comparative
• moodiest
  superlative

Etymology

Origin of moody

before 900; Middle English mody, Old English mōdig. See mood ¹, -y ¹

Explanation

If you're in a bad mood, especially when you were in a pretty good mood this morning, you can say you're moody. A moody person's emotions change unpredictably and often. Someone with erratic moods is moody — you could also call them temperamental or changeable. If you describe a painting or a piece of music as moody, you probably mean that it has a dark, gloomy nature. A moody play, for example, might be a little depressing, or at least melancholy. Moody, from the Old English modig, began by meaning "arrogant or proud," and around the late sixteenth century became "subject to gloomy spells."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

moody Moody moodier moodiest

But the incident somehow made the moody, tortured, and quietly seething Zidane more believed in France.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

His movies are moody and stylish, dashed with violence and a sense of spiritual grace that often wrongfoots audiences.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

Two years ago, Sugar began as a stylish and moody homage to the black-and-white films of the 1940s and ’50s.

From Slate ● Jun. 30, 2026

Over the past few years, however, he has become moody and unwilling to help her.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

Soon after, Jessie heard the sounds of Isa’s bow striking her violin in a moody rendition of “La Folia.”

From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser

Following sentencing, Joanne Moody, whose father Peter Moody was among the 35 bodies recovered from Legacy, said she felt "really, really let down" by the sentence.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

Speaking outside court, his daughter Joanne Moody, said she felt "really really let down".

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

Appeared in the July 31, 2026, print edition as 'Spider-Man’s Moody Return'.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

Moody said it usually takes markets a while to adjust to any new Fed chair.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026

“The people in photos aren’t famous,” Moody put in.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

The pop star’s new album is a darker, moodier follow-up to 2024’s tender “Eternal Sunshine.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

But if fresh tomatoes are summer’s darling, sun-dried tomatoes are their moodier, more savory cousin.

From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026

"He's moodier," she says, adding he spends more time playing video games than before.

From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2026

“Midnights,” from 2022, was a little moodier than 2024’s “The Tortured Poets Department,” which was a little wordier than its predecessor, but both operated within a relatively narrow template.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2025

Besides, the navigator has been moodier than usual.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

He works through his grandfather’s illness and eventual demise on “God Laughs,” the moodiest and most haunting song of the project.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 16, 2022

The album, their third and moodiest, was a distinct, post-punk swerve away from the hip-hop and breakbeat culture they had championed in Bristol.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 17, 2019

Charles Todd’s hero, himself a victim of shell shock, is one of the moodiest detectives in the genre.

From New York Times ● Dec. 21, 2018

Chugging guitars set the tone for the rest of the album, which is their moodiest and most energetic since the reunion with Sprout.

From Time ● Feb. 21, 2014

Contrast the moodiest parts of Childe Harold or of Cain with Novalis's Night Hymns.

From Critical Miscellanies, Vol. I Essay 3: Byron by Morley, John