How to Use surly in a Sentence

surly

adjective

• Lower back, hips and the top of his left foot led the ranks of the surly and sore.
  — San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Dec. 2021
• Those are the type of nights people are in surly moods.
  — Lori Riley, courant.com, 25 Aug. 2019
• But the surly mood in much of the nation is not to be ignored.
  — Jon Talton, The Seattle Times, 23 Dec. 2017
• The story of the maybe-couple’s lofty meet-cute had slipped the surly bonds of mirth.
  — Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 6 July 2018
• Teenagers come and go in surly waves, and the LAPD rousts a man who has fallen asleep.
  — Nathan Deuel, Los Angeles Magazine, 21 May 2018
• French voters are in a surly mood, and who can blame them?
  — Greg Ip, WSJ, 23 Apr. 2017
• The rest of the time is spent in surly silence or at each other’s throats.
  — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 21 Dec. 2021
• Once, Chow and Collins teased Young about his surly demeanor.
  — Greg Bishop, SI.com, 27 June 2017
• The surly fans at Soldier Field will have something to cheer there for the first time in more than a month.
  — Dan Wiederer, chicagotribune.com, 6 Nov. 2019
• Which will be the first nation to break the surly bonds of earth and touch the face of capitalism?
  — Michelle Legro, Longreads, 18 Sep. 2017
• But the real hero today is the Falcon 9, which slipped the surly bonds of Earth to put out its hands and touch the face of God.
  — Jay Bennett, Popular Mechanics, 30 Mar. 2017
• He’s been labeled — anonymously, of course — as ornery on the course and surly in the clubhouse.
  — Roy Bragg, San Antonio Express-News, 10 Apr. 2018
• One of the teams that wanted Mays – one of the best pitchers in the league but a surly teammate - was the Indians.
  — Marc Bona, cleveland, 15 Aug. 2021
• But, last year, my career stalled and my kids became surly teenagers.
  — Jane Parker, Bon Appetit, 22 Mar. 2018
• Romanik is a surly 68-year-old former East St. Louis street cop.
  — Peter Holley, Washington Post, 8 July 2017
• Such surly sentiments can persist right up to the moment the house lights dim.
  — Ben Brantley, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2020
• The place was packed, and Silva wasn’t getting anywhere with a surly waitress.
  — Alex Barasch, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023
• Fans of the other 31 teams don’t like the Patriots at all and are quick to rip Belichick for being a surly son of a gun.
  — Andy Nesbitt, For The Win, 19 Nov. 2019
• This is the Cousins that his critics have always pointed to: foul-prone and surly, trouble for his team.
  — Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 6 June 2019
• Of course, the woman instantly falls for a man who’s surly or shy toward her.
  — Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle, 22 Mar. 2018
• Which meant bodyguards and sore losers—too many surly men walking around with guns in their pockets.
  — Colson Whitehead, The New Yorker, 19 July 2021
• Against this backdrop, a surly agent tells Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston) to take a ticket and join the line.
  — Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 12 June 2021
• How to behave: Scowl the entire night, but make sure to take plenty of surly photos with adoring fans.
  — Garrett Mitchell, azcentral, 28 Oct. 2019
• Over and over, the Lorns slip the surly bonds of family in a tale set against the backdrop of an American century.
  — oregonlive.com, 1 Aug. 2019
• After a quick meal from Steak ’n Shake, A Boogie began rolling up some weed in the lobby while in the background, a surly beat throbbed.
  — Jon Caramanica, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2016
• Melvin was right: Puk, the sixth overall pick in the 2016 draft from the University of Florida, isn’t the slightest bit surly.
  — Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle, 25 Feb. 2018
• The state capital of North Dakota feels more like a small town than a surly legislative city.
  — Lisa Davis, chicagotribune.com, 14 May 2018
• When the Silver Vaults first opened in 1876, they were guarded by surly men brandishing swords and shotguns.
  — James Bartlett, latimes.com, 22 June 2018
• So the Republicans returned to Washington in 1949 in a surly mood.
  — Steven Casey, Foreign Affairs, 14 Dec. 2015
• Much of this is relatable, and much of Jones’ interpretation is winningly surly.
  — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 10 July 2024

Last Updated: 13 Nov 2024