sullen

[suhl-uhn]

adjective

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.

Nearby words

Origin of sullen

1565–75; earlier solein, Middle English < ?

SYNONYMS FOR sullen

1. See cross. 1, 2. See glum. 2. sulky, moody, sour, bad-tempered. 4. cheerless, clouded, overcast, somber, mournful, dark. 5. slow, stagnant.

ANTONYMS FOR sullen

1, 2. cheerful.

Related formssul·len·ly, adverbsul·len·ness, nounun·sul·len, adjectiveun·sul·len·ly, adverb

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

Examples from the Web for sullenly

And defeated Germany sullenly nursed her wounds, its people casting about for someone to blame.
Wounds of World War I Have Yet to Heal|Michael F. Bishop|June 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We can stand silently and sullenly beside them since, ideologically speaking, there is nowhere else to go.
The Betrayed Wives Club|Lee Siegel|February 6, 2010|DAILY BEAST
McClellan could not pursue; and the Confederates fell back doggedly, sullenly, and recrossed into Virginia.
Four Years in Rebel Capitals|T. C. DeLeon
Why had he persisted in sullenly leaving them all and going home?
Ester Ried Yet Speaking|Isabella Alden

Id hate to be foolish enough to believe she was anything but mean, growled Bobby, sullenly.
The Girls of Central High|Gertrude W. Morrison
“Boys will be boys, no matter whether they have scout uniforms on or overalls,” he said sullenly.
The Boy Scouts of Lenox|Frank V. Webster
"Well, I don't want to hear anything about them or their doings," he retorted, sullenly.
The Cottage of Delight|Will N. Harben

British Dictionary definitions for sullenly

sullen

adjective

unwilling to talk or be sociable; sulky; morose

sombre; gloomya sullen day

literary sluggish; slowa sullen stream

obsolete threatening

noun

(plural) archaic a sullen mood

Derived Formssullenly, adverbsullenness, noun

Word Origin for sullen

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.