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
Related Words
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.
He said the teenager came across as an "unremarkable, sullen, untalkative, gawky teenage boy" during their sessions together.
From BBC • Oct. 20, 2025
Those sullen teens trailing their parents toward the taco truck—why the hooded sweatshirts in 84-degree heat and 72-percent humidity?
From Slate • Aug. 13, 2025
There is immense depth behind her sparkling eyes, which she can turn sullen in a second.
From Salon • Mar. 2, 2025
Last Thursday, zookeepers noticed the usually playful and energetic bear became lethargic and sullen.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 11, 2024
Kainene had always been the withdrawn child, the sullen and often acerbic teenager, the one who, because she did not try to please their parents, left Olanna with that duty.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
