SULKY Synonyms: 65 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'sulky' different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of sulky are crabbed , gloomy , glum , morose , saturnine , sullen , and surly . While all these words mean "showing a forbidding or disagreeable mood," sulky suggests childish resentment expressed in peevish sullenness. // grew sulky after every spat

Q: Where would 'crabbed' be a reasonable alternative to 'sulky'?

The words crabbed and sulky can be used in similar contexts, but crabbed applies to a forbidding morose harshness of manner. // the school's notoriously crabbed headmaster

Q: When is 'gloomy' a more appropriate choice than 'sulky'?

While the synonyms gloomy and sulky are close in meaning, gloomy implies a depression in mood making for seeming sullenness or glumness. // a gloomy mood ushered in by bad news

Q: When can 'glum' be used instead of 'sulky'?

The words glum and sulky are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, glum suggests a silent dispiritedness. // a glum candidate left to ponder a stunning defeat

Q: How do 'morose' and 'glum' relate to one another, in the sense of 'sulky'?

Morose adds to glum an element of bitterness or misanthropy. // morose job seekers who are inured to rejection

Q: When would 'saturnine' be a good substitute for 'sulky'?

In some situations, the words saturnine and sulky are roughly equivalent. However, saturnine describes a heavy forbidding aspect or suggests a bitter disposition. // a saturnine cynic always finding fault

Q: In what contexts can 'sullen' take the place of 'sulky'?

While in some cases nearly identical to sulky , sullen implies a silent ill humor and a refusal to be sociable. // remained sullen amid the festivities

Q: When could 'surly' be used to replace 'sulky'?

The synonyms surly and sulky are sometimes interchangeable, but surly implies gruffness and sullenness of speech or manner. // a typical surly teenager

sulky

adjective

ˈsəl-kē

Definition of sulky next

as in pouting

given to or displaying a resentful silence and often irritability our teenage daughter turns sulky if we refuse to let her borrow the car

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word sulky different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of sulky are crabbed, gloomy, glum, morose, saturnine, sullen, and surly. While all these words mean "showing a forbidding or disagreeable mood," sulky suggests childish resentment expressed in peevish sullenness.

grew sulky after every spat

Where would crabbed be a reasonable alternative to sulky?

The words crabbed and sulky can be used in similar contexts, but crabbed applies to a forbidding morose harshness of manner.

the school's notoriously crabbed headmaster

When is gloomy a more appropriate choice than sulky?

While the synonyms gloomy and sulky are close in meaning, gloomy implies a depression in mood making for seeming sullenness or glumness.

a gloomy mood ushered in by bad news

When can glum be used instead of sulky?

The words glum and sulky are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, glum suggests a silent dispiritedness.

a glum candidate left to ponder a stunning defeat

How do morose and glum relate to one another, in the sense of sulky?

Morose adds to glum an element of bitterness or misanthropy.

morose job seekers who are inured to rejection

When would saturnine be a good substitute for sulky?

In some situations, the words saturnine and sulky are roughly equivalent. However, saturnine describes a heavy forbidding aspect or suggests a bitter disposition.

a saturnine cynic always finding fault

In what contexts can sullen take the place of sulky?

While in some cases nearly identical to sulky, sullen implies a silent ill humor and a refusal to be sociable.

remained sullen amid the festivities

When could surly be used to replace sulky?

The synonyms surly and sulky are sometimes interchangeable, but surly implies gruffness and sullenness of speech or manner.

a typical surly teenager

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of sulky Austin Butler’s version of Elvis is a sulky pretty boy with smokey-eye makeup, loud silk shirts, and lips the color and texture of bubblegum. —

Katie Rife, Vulture, 24 June 2022 Lestat wastes no time in breaking the guy's neck and offering him up for his sulky boyfriend, but in the end, Louis chooses a cat. —

Sara Netzley, EW.com, 17 Oct. 2022 In the late 1990s, Louis Easton was a sulky teen when his horticulturist father introduced him to plant care and merchandising. —

Jeanette Marantosstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2022 No new facts are necessary to demonstrate that Trump was a sulky, smooth-brained baby, prone to fits of pouty anger, enabled by a coterie of vile liars and violent stooges. —

Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 2 July 2022 See all Example Sentences for sulky

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sulky

Adjective

Even if a more irritable side of her personality has emerged, there’s no excuse for cruelty.

R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 4 Nov. 2024
In worst-case scenarios, pain can cause a dog to be more irritable and aggressive, like if a human had a severe headache and couldn't tolerate social interaction, Enomoto said.

Claire Thornton, USA TODAY, 8 Nov. 2024