sullen
[suhl-uh n]
- showing irritation or ill humor by a gloomy silence or reserve.
- persistently and silently ill-humored; morose.
- indicative of gloomy ill humor.
- gloomy or dismal, as weather or a sound.
- sluggish, as a stream.
- Obsolete. malignant, as planets or influences.
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Origin of sullen
1565–75; earlier solein, Middle English < ?
Synonyms
See more synonyms for sullen on Thesaurus.comAntonyms
1, 2. cheerful.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for sullenly
Contemporary Examples
And defeated Germany sullenly nursed her wounds, its people casting about for someone to blame.
We can stand silently and sullenly beside them since, ideologically speaking, there is nowhere else to go.
Historical Examples
Why had he persisted in sullenly leaving them all and going home?
Ester Ried Yet SpeakingIsabella Alden
"I pay them the same as the other stores do," he repeated, sullenly.
Within the LawMarvin Dana
The young man walked quickly to where they stood eyeing him sullenly.
The Monster MenEdgar Rice Burroughs
Morris sullenly took his place on the other side of the flag-pole.
In a Steamer Chair and Other StoriesRobert Barr
"First turn to the right, second to the left," I said, sullenly.
The Rise of Roscoe PaineJoseph C. Lincoln
sullen
- unwilling to talk or be sociable; sulky; morose
- sombre; gloomya sullen day
- literary sluggish; slowa sullen stream
- obsolete threatening
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- (plural) archaic a sullen mood
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Word Origin
C16: perhaps from Anglo-French solain (unattested), ultimately related to Latin sōlus alone
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for sullenly
sullen
adj.
1570s, alteration of Middle English soleyn "unique, singular," from Anglo-French *solein, formed on the pattern of Old French soltain, from Old French soul "single" (see sole (n.2)). The sense shift in Middle English from "solitary" to "morose" occurred late 14c.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper