surly

[sur-lee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR surly ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, sur·li·er, sur·li·est.

churlishly rude or bad-tempered: a surly waiter.

unfriendly or hostile; menacingly irritable: a surly old lion.

dark or dismal; menacing; threatening: a surly sky.

Obsolete. lordly; arrogant.

Origin of surly

1560–70; spelling variant of obsolete sirly lordly, arrogant, equivalent to sir + -ly

Related formssur·li·ly, adverbsur·li·ness, nounun·sur·li·ly, adverbun·sur·li·ness, nounun·sur·ly, adjective

Synonym study

Glum, morose, sullen, dour, surly all are adjectives describing a gloomy, unsociable attitude. Glum describes a depressed, spiritless condition or manner, usually temporary rather than habitual: a glum shrug of the shoulders; a glum, hopeless look in his eye. Morose, which adds to glum a sense of bitterness, implies a habitual and pervasive gloominess: a sour, morose manner; morose withdrawal from human contact. Sullen usually implies reluctance or refusal to speak accompanied by glowering looks expressing anger or a sense of injury: a sullen manner, silence, look. Dour refers to a stern and forbidding aspect, stony and unresponsive: dour rejection of friendly overtures. Surly implies gruffness of speech and manner, usually accompanied by an air of injury and ill temper: a surly reply.

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

Related Words for surly

boorish, dour, sullen, rude, testy, ugly, morose, irritable, brusque, churlish, cross, crusty, discourteous, fractious, glum, grouchy, ill-mannered, ill-natured, perverse, saturnine

Examples from the Web for surly

Contemporary Examples of surly

Even now, the GOP still polls less well than the Democratic Party with a surly electorate.
To Make Their Victory Durable, the GOP Must Fix the Minimum Wage
Dmitri Mehlhorn
November 6, 2014
So, Dean picks Laney Boggs (Rachael Leigh Cook), a dorky, surly art student.
‘She’s All That' 15th Anniversary: Cast and Crew Reminisce About the Making of the ‘90s Classic
Marlow Stern
January 29, 2014
This was a guy so surly and grim that he made Tommy Lee Jones look like SpongeBob SquarePants.
Obama’s Phony Bipartisan Pick: Chuck Hagel for Defense
Matt Latimer
January 8, 2013
It was a bit like watching a surly jazz musician, channeling Miles Davis, take the stage.
The Power of the Wedding Dress
Robin Givhan
October 3, 2011
A couple of times, Newt Gingrich got so surly and snarky and self-congratulatory that I was transported back to 1995.
The Mitt and Rick Show
Michelle Cottle
September 8, 2011

Historical Examples of surly

"You have done very well," remarked the Brabanter in a surly voice.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
Our steward was a Portuguese negro, of the most vicious and surly temper.
Ned Myers
James Fenimore Cooper
He would not have been a Briton if these untoward combinations of events had not made him surly.
Hetty's Strange History
Anonymous
She was a Socitaire of the Comdie, old, spiteful, and surly.
My Double Life
Sarah Bernhardt
He had to bid him go back in a surly tone, and his heart smote him while he did so.
Barnaby Rudge
Charles Dickens

British Dictionary definitions for surly

surly

adjective -lier or -liest

sullenly ill-tempered or rude

(of an animal) ill-tempered or refractory

dismal

obsolete arrogant

Derived Formssurlily, adverbsurliness, noun

Word Origin for surly

C16: from obsolete sirly haughty; see sir

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 surly

adj.

1560s, "lordly, majestic," alteration of Middle English sirly "lordly, imperious" (14c.), from sir. The meaning "rude, gruff" is first attested 1660s. For sense development, cf. lordly, and German herrisch "domineering, imperious," from Herr "master, lord."