sulk

[suhlk]

verb (used without object)

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

a state or fit of sulking.

sulks, ill-humor shown by sulking: to be in the sulks.

Also sulk·er. a person who sulks.

Origin of sulk

First recorded in 1775–85; back formation from sulky

Related formsout·sulk, verb (used with object)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for sulks

mope, brood, gloom, lower, grouse, glower, gripe, moon, grump, scowl, frown

Examples from the Web for sulks

Contemporary Examples of sulks

Your heart bleeds for a 12-year-old who sulks after discovering the cruel realities of humanity.
Why 'The Giver' Movie Will Disappoint the Book's Fans
Kevin Fallon
August 15, 2014
When Elsa breaks up with Von Trapp and sulks off stage near the end, you hate to see her go.
‘Sound of Music Live!’ Review: The Hills Are Barely Alive
Kevin Fallon
December 6, 2013

Historical Examples of sulks

He sulks and tells silly lies when you come to really know him.
The Gorgeous Girl
Nalbro Bartley
What difference would it make whether in the sulks or out of them?
The Prisoner
Alice Brown
Susie and Inez quarreled over the dishes and had the sulks all day.
Tabitha's Vacation
Ruth Alberta Brown
She claimed a foul and went off in a fit of sulks, of course.
David and the Phoenix
Edward Ormondroyd
Achilles, the man of action, without honour or imagination, sulks.
William Shakespeare
John Masefield

British Dictionary definitions for sulks

sulk

verb

(intr) to be silent and resentful because of a wrong done to one, esp in order to gain sympathy; brood sullenlythe child sulked in a corner after being slapped

noun

(often plural) a state or mood of feeling resentful or sullenhe's in a sulk because he lost the game; he's got the sulks

Also: sulker a person who sulks

Word Origin for sulk

C18: perhaps a back formation from sulky 1

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 sulks

sulk

1781, back-formation of sulky (adj.). Related: Sulked; sulking.