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.

Origin of sullen

1565–75; earlier solein, Middle English < ?

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

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.

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

Examples from the Web for sullenly

Contemporary Examples of 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
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

Historical Examples of sullenly

Why had he persisted in sullenly leaving them all and going home?
Ester Ried Yet Speaking
Isabella Alden
"I pay them the same as the other stores do," he repeated, sullenly.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana
The young man walked quickly to where they stood eyeing him sullenly.
The Monster Men
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Morris sullenly took his place on the other side of the flag-pole.
In a Steamer Chair and Other Stories
Robert Barr
"First turn to the right, second to the left," I said, sullenly.
The Rise of Roscoe Paine
Joseph C. Lincoln

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.