sulk
[suhlk]
- 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.
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- a state or fit of sulking.
- sulks, ill-humor shown by sulking: to be in the sulks.
- Also sulk·er. a person who sulks.
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Origin of sulk
First recorded in 1775–85; back formation from sulky
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for sulks
Contemporary Examples
Your heart bleeds for a 12-year-old who sulks after discovering the cruel realities of humanity.
When Elsa breaks up with Von Trapp and sulks off stage near the end, you hate to see her go.
Historical Examples
He sulks and tells silly lies when you come to really know him.
The Gorgeous GirlNalbro Bartley
What difference would it make whether in the sulks or out of them?
The PrisonerAlice Brown
Susie and Inez quarreled over the dishes and had the sulks all day.
Tabitha's VacationRuth Alberta Brown
She claimed a foul and went off in a fit of sulks, of course.
David and the PhoenixEdward Ormondroyd
Achilles, the man of action, without honour or imagination, sulks.
William ShakespeareJohn Masefield
sulk
- (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
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- (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
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Word Origin
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
v.
1781, back-formation of sulky (adj.). Related: Sulked; sulking.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper