moody

[moo-dee]

See more synonyms for moody on Thesaurus.com

adjective, mood·i·er, mood·i·est.

given to gloomy, depressed, or sullen moods; ill-humored.
proceeding from or showing such a mood: a moody silence.
expressing or exhibiting sharply varying moods; temperamental.

Origin of moody

before 900; Middle English mody, Old English mōdig. See mood¹, -y¹

Related formsmood·i·ly, adverbmood·i·ness, nounun·mood·y, adjective

Synonyms for moody

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1. sulky, morose, brooding; glowering.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for moodiness

tension, stress, impatience, agitation, sensitivity, disquiet, jitters, uneasiness, anger, turbulence, worry, heartache, melancholy, sorrow, poignancy, mourning, grief, heartbreak, hopelessness, misery

Examples from the Web for moodiness

Contemporary Examples of moodiness

He claimed “she was capable of saying things of such majestic narcissism” and that “her moodiness was unpredictable and extreme.”
11 Revelations From Salman Rushdie’s Memoir, ‘Joseph Anton’
The Daily Beast
September 18, 2012
She was also drawn to qualities in Vadim that reminded her of her father: his introversion, his moodiness, his seductive demeanor.
Jane Fonda’s New Biography: 14 Juicy Bits
Lizzie Crocker
August 23, 2011
He needed encouragement to overcome his alienation and moodiness, not vicious swipes.
The Greatest Football Player That Never Was
Buzz Bissinger
February 10, 2011

Historical Examples of moodiness

"We must go back," she told him and exulted in his moodiness.
The Innocent Adventuress
Mary Hastings Bradley
Philip straightens himself, and his moodiness flies from him.
Molly Bawn
Margaret Wolfe Hamilton
On top of this moodiness a violence of temper, a stewing, cursing, fuming about.
Erik Dorn
Ben Hecht
Yet Matty had been of service and perhaps her moodiness was caused by a suppressed affection.
Erik Dorn
Ben Hecht
There is the evidence of extreme reticence and moodiness in Fuller always.
Adventures in the Arts
Marsden Hartley

British Dictionary definitions for moodiness

moody

adjective moodier or moodiest

sullen, sulky, or gloomy
temperamental or changeable

Derived Formsmoodily, adverbmoodiness, noun

Moody

noun

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

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 moodiness

Old English modignes "pride, passion, anger;" see moody + -ness. Meaning "condition of being moody" is from 1858.

moody

adj.

Old English modig "brave, proud, high-spirited, impetuous, arrogant," from Proto-Germanic *modago- (cf. Old Saxon modag, Dutch moedig, German mutig, Old Norse moðugr); see mood (1) + -y (2). Meaning "subject to gloomy spells" is first recorded 1590s (via a Middle English sense of "angry").

moodiness in Medicine

moody

[mōō′dē]

adj.

Given to frequent changes of mood; temperamental.
Subject to periods of depression; sulky.
Expressive of a mood, especially a sullen or gloomy mood.