surly
Americanadjective
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churlishly rude or bad-tempered.
a surly waiter.
-
unfriendly or hostile; menacingly irritable.
a surly old lion.
- Synonyms:
- malevolent, threatening
-
dark or dismal; menacing; threatening.
a surly sky.
- Synonyms:
- ominous
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Obsolete. lordly; arrogant.
adjective
-
sullenly ill-tempered or rude
-
(of an animal) ill-tempered or refractory
-
dismal
-
obsolete arrogant
Related Words
See glum.
Other Word Forms
- surlily adverb
- surliness noun
- unsurlily adverb
- unsurliness noun
- unsurly adjective
Etymology
Origin of surly
First recorded in 1560–70; spelling variant of obsolete sirly “lordly, arrogant,” equivalent to sir + -ly
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.
If we had wind chimes, it would’ve been a Lollapalooza monsoon of surly zephyrs all the livelong night.
From Los Angeles Times
The presence of the surly uncle, insufferable in-law, or grating girlfriend at the holiday table can make it hard to truly count one’s blessings.
I recommend having a ‘go box’ for when you slip these surly bonds of earth.
From MarketWatch
As a surly, teenage combination of self-aggrandizement and self-doubt, she is the instantly recognizable character that makes the rest of the world believable.
From Los Angeles Times
She also had to get used to the idea of who Lydia had become: a widowed mother with a surly unfun daughter who doesn’t believe in ghosts, dating a suspiciously doting hanger-on.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
