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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

irritabilityacrimonysullennesstartnesssharpnessbitternessroughnessdifficultyacerbityirascibilitypeevishnessmeannesssournesscrabbinessmorosenesscrossnessangergloominessmoodiness

Examples from the Web for moroseness

Historical Examples

  • His temper was of the saturnine complexion, and without the least taint of moroseness.

    Joseph Andrews Vol. 1

    Henry Fielding

  • Too long had he cultivated reticence, aloofness, and moroseness.

    White Fang

    Jack London

  • He would lose his moroseness and give his undivided attention to her.

  • It did not amount to moroseness; he was preoccupied, and his mind abstracted.

    Saronia

    Richard Short

  • May wondered whether his reticence was due to modesty or to moroseness.

    A Venetian June

    Anna Fuller

British Dictionary definitions for moroseness

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 moroseness

n.

1660s, from morose + -ness. Earlier in the same sense was morosity (1530s), from Middle French morosité, from Latin morositas.

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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