morosely

American  

[muh-rohs-lee] / məˈroʊs li /

adverb

1. in a sullen, gloomy, or ill-humored way.

   Falling silent, the old sailor became quite glum, and seemed morosely unwilling to answer any more questions.

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Other Word Forms

• supermorosely adverb
• unmorosely adverb

Etymology

Origin of morosely

morose + -ly

Explanation

When you do something morosely, you do it in a sullen, moody way. When you sit on the couch, sighing and looking sad because you didn't get invited to your friend's party, you are sitting there morosely. Morose means gloomy or in a bad mood, so whenever the adverb morosely describes your actions, you're not feeling very cheerful. There is an element of crankiness in the word morosely, which you can even see it its Latin root, morosus, which means "peevish." So when you do something morosely, you're not just sad, but you're making sure everyone knows how you're feeling.

Example Sentences

Shakespeare wrote of the seven ages of man, ending morosely, “sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025

Their destination is Mexico, but they’ve got pursuers in the form of a posse led by a steadfast, morosely philosophical U.S.

From Los Angeles Times • May 2, 2025

Still, throughout the series, one of the recurring visual motifs for this character has been water: Kendall sinking morosely into a bathtub; Kendall falling face down into a pool; and so on.

From New York Times • Apr. 30, 2023

She would joke morosely when it came time for the daily walk through the Capitol to Schwarzenegger’s office, past the clusters of reporters and lobbyists.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 4, 2020

He sat morosely with his elbows on his desk, cradling his chin in his hands.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

Related Words

• wistfully