mood
1 Americannoun
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a state or quality of feeling at a particular time.
What's the boss' mood today?
- Synonyms:
- state of mind, frame of mind, disposition, humor, temper
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a distinctive emotional quality or character.
The mood of the music was almost funereal.
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a prevailing emotional tone or general attitude.
the country's mood.
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a frame of mind disposed or receptive, as to some activity or thing.
I'm not in the mood to see a movie.
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a state of sullenness, gloom, or bad temper.
noun
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Grammar.
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a set of categories for which the verb is inflected in many languages, and that is typically used to indicate the syntactic relation of the clause in which the verb occurs to other clauses in the sentence, or the attitude of the speaker toward what they are saying, such as certainty or uncertainty, wish or command, emphasis or hesitancy.
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a set of syntactic devices in some languages that is similar to this set in function or meaning, involving the use of auxiliary words, such as can, may, might.
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any of the categories of these sets.
the Latin indicative, imperative, and subjunctive moods.
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Logic. a classification of categorical syllogisms by the use of three letters that name, respectively, the major premise, the minor premise, and the conclusion.
noun
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a temporary state of mind or temper
a cheerful mood
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a sullen or gloomy state of mind, esp when temporary
she's in a mood
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a prevailing atmosphere or feeling
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in a favourable state of mind (for something or to do something)
noun
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grammar a category of the verb or verbal inflections that expresses semantic and grammatical differences, including such forms as the indicative, subjunctive, and imperative
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logic one of the possible arrangements of the syllogism, classified solely by whether the component propositions are universal or particular and affirmative or negative Compare figure
Etymology
Origin of mood1
First recorded before 900; Middle English mod, mode “mind” (as opposed to body), Old English mōd “mind, spirit; courage”; cognate with German Mut, Gothic mōths “courage,” Old Norse mōthr “anger”
Origin of mood2
First recorded in 1525–35; special use of mood 1 by influence of mode 1
Explanation
Are you feeling good or bad, cheerful or irritable right now? This is your mood. Mood refers to how you feel at the present time. If you want to ask your boss for a raise, wait until he or she is in a good mood. Don't ask, though, if he or she is "in a mood" - that means the person is grumpy. If you are in the mood for something like ice cream or spicy food, you would like to have it now. Mood can also describe the attitude of a group of people or the feeling of a film, novel or piece of music.
Vocabulary lists containing mood
Vocabulary of the Common Core
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Argumentative Writing, List 1
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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.
But it is one of the most useful things you can keep in your fridge: affordable, basically already prepped and flexible enough to become almost anything, depending on what you’re in the mood for.
From Salon • May 22, 2026
In earlier decades, a grimmer economic mood usually meant lower inflation-adjusted spending, while shopping picked up when consumers reported more optimism.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
Both are about to learn it is one elephant, with three sides and one body — and it is not in a good mood.
From MarketWatch • May 21, 2026
Over the last month while in hospice, Frank did a number of interviews with US media, commenting on his life's work, the current political mood and the travails of the left.
From BBC • May 20, 2026
We kind of just kept eating, pretended it didn’t happen, and hoped the bad mood would go away.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
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.
