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Synonyms

sulk

American  
[suhlk] / sʌlk /

verb (used without object)

  1. to remain silent or hold oneself aloof in a sullen, ill-humored, or offended mood.

    Promise me that you won't sulk if I want to leave the party early.

noun

  1. a state or fit of sulking.

  2. sulks, ill-humor shown by sulking.

    to be in the sulks.

  3. Also sulker. a person who sulks.

sulk British  
/ sʌlk /

verb

  1. (intr) to be silent and resentful because of a wrong done to one, esp in order to gain sympathy; brood sullenly

    the child sulked in a corner after being slapped
"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

noun

  1. (often plural) a state or mood of feeling resentful or sullen

    he's in a sulk because he lost the game

    he's got the sulks

  2. Also: sulker.  a person who sulks

"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

Other Word Forms

  • outsulk verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of sulk

First recorded in 1775–85; back formation from sulky

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.

Kane said Bayern had "no time to sulk" and "would not let the defeat define our season".

From Barron's • Jan. 24, 2026

Nine months later, after the New Year's Eve party where Joel messes up again by trying to defend Ellie, he excuses himself to sulk with Ellie’s guitar on his porch.

From Salon • May 19, 2025

Exhausted and exasperated, the quarterback had a rhetorical question for the cluster: “Can’t you let a guy sulk in peace?”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 4, 2025

“Just got to, I guess, sulk about it tonight and then get over it.”

From Seattle Times • Sep. 15, 2023

All I do is sulk, cry, and yell at my parents.

From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick

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.