mopey
Americanadjective
Usage
What does mopey mean? Someone who is mopey lacks vigor or spirit. They might feel glum, discouraged, or joyless. When your best friend goes away for the summer, leaving you with no one to hang out with and you feel lonely or sad, you might say you feel mopey. You might not want to hang out with your other friends or you may not feel like doing some of your favorite things. Or you might do them, but not with energy or a lot of enjoyment. You’re feeling mopey. Example: Juan looked pretty mopey after the exam, so I don’t think it went too well.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of mopey
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.
“Some Folks’ Lives Roll Easy” is a mopey envy-laced song about how good others have it.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 27, 2025
Park plays with Man-su’s crippling pride, which keeps him mopey and unwilling to consider part-time work.
From Salon • Oct. 7, 2025
But “Bodkin,” created by Jez Scharf and executive produced by Barack and Michelle Obama, among others, takes more inspiration from mopey foreign murder shows.
From New York Times • May 8, 2024
Now, supposedly as a result of the pandemic, he’s relapsed into an even more depressive version of his old mopey self — I suppose a purely cheery Monk would be … some other character.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 7, 2023
“Well, as a matter of fact, she does seem a little mopey this afternoon. No, I take that back. She’s downright monstrous.”
From "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper
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.
