sullen
Americanadjective
-
showing irritation or ill humor by a gloomy silence or reserve.
- Antonyms:
- cheerful
-
persistently and silently ill-humored; morose.
- Synonyms:
- bad-tempered, cranky, sour, moody, sulky
- Antonyms:
- cheerful
-
indicative of gloomy ill humor.
-
gloomy or dismal, as weather or a sound.
-
sluggish, as a stream.
-
Obsolete. malignant, as planets or influences.
adjective
-
unwilling to talk or be sociable; sulky; morose
-
sombre; gloomy
a sullen day
-
literary sluggish; slow
a sullen stream
-
obsolete threatening
noun
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sullen
First recorded in 1565–75; earlier sollen, solain, from Middle English solein(e), solain “sole, solitary, sullen,” possibly from Vulgar Latin sōlānus (unattested), from Latin sōlus “alone, only, single”
Explanation
A bad-tempered or gloomy person is sullen. Sullen people are down in the dumps. If someone is dark, dour, glum, moody, morose, or sour, they're also sullen. Teenagers are often described as sullen, especially when they're being grumpy and silent. You often hear about "a sullen silence," which is when someone is quiet, but obviously in a lousy mood. If a sullen person is talking, they're probably not saying much, and they might not be doing much beyond grunting. A sullen person isn't much fun to be around.
Vocabulary lists containing sullen
In the Mood? 100 Words to Describe Emotions
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A Wrinkle in Time
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List 8
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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.
The crowd was sullen, and the only levity came from my boys, 2 and 3, running up and down the hall, hiding and entertaining themselves with a wheelchair.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 28, 2026
The crowd, which greeted Paul with boos before settling into sullen, begrudging applause when prodded, is fully prepared for a distraction.
From Slate • Jun. 16, 2026
He said the teenager came across as an "unremarkable, sullen, untalkative, gawky teenage boy" during their sessions together.
From BBC • Oct. 20, 2025
Technically, her sullen Yelena opens the film in a hoodie — call it detention-room chic.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2025
I looked sullen, perhaps, for she shrugged her shoulders and wandered to the looking-glass, straightening her little mushroom hat.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
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.
