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morose

[muh-rohs]
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adjective
  1. gloomily or sullenly ill-humored, as a person or mood.
  2. characterized by or expressing gloom.
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Origin of morose

1555–65; < Latin mōrōsus fretful, peevish, willful, equivalent to mōr- (stem of mōs) will, inclination + -ōsus -ose1
Related formsmo·rose·ly, adverbmo·rose·ness, mo·ros·i·ty [muh-ros-i-tee] /məˈrɒs ɪ ti/, nounsu·per·mo·rose, adjectivesu·per·mo·rose·ly, adverbsu·per·mo·rose·ness, nounun·mo·rose, adjectiveun·mo·rose·ly, adverbun·mo·rose·ness, noun

Synonyms

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1. moody, sour, sulky, surly. See glum.

Antonyms

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

Related Words

wistfullysorrowfullydejectedlydismallydolefullygloomilygrievouslymorosely

Examples from the Web for morosely

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Good Indian leaned his back against a tree, and eyed the two morosely.

    Good Indian

    B. M. Bower

  • He went about morosely and snapped villainously at the boys.

    The Night Riders

    Ridgwell Cullum

  • Morosely he ruminated on the suppressed adjective for a moment.

    Nobody

    Louis Joseph Vance

  • "It may be anything," uttered Jorgenson, morosely, but as it were in a mollified tone.

    The Rescue

    Joseph Conrad

  • "My name's not Daddleskink," the Tyro informed him morosely.

    Little Miss Grouch

    Samuel Hopkins Adams

British Dictionary definitions for morosely

morose

adjective
  1. ill-tempered or gloomy
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Derived Formsmorosely, adverbmoroseness, noun

Word Origin

C16: from Latin mōrōsus peevish, capricious, from mōs custom, will, caprice
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 morosely

adv.

1650s, from morose + -ly (2).

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morose

adj.

1530s "gloomy," from Latin morosus "morose, peevish, hypercritical, fastidious," from mos (genitive moris) "habit, custom" (see moral (adj.)). In English, manners by itself means "(good) manners," but here the implication in Latin is "(bad) manners." Related: Morosity.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper