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Synonym Chooser

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

Some common synonyms of sullen are crabbed, gloomy, glum, morose, saturnine, sulky, and surly. While all these words mean "showing a forbidding or disagreeable mood," sullen implies a silent ill humor and a refusal to be sociable.

remained sullen amid the festivities

In what contexts can crabbed take the place of sullen?

While the synonyms crabbed and sullen are close in meaning, crabbed applies to a forbidding morose harshness of manner.

the school's notoriously crabbed headmaster

When would gloomy be a good substitute for sullen?

Although the words gloomy and sullen have much in common, gloomy implies a depression in mood making for seeming sullenness or glumness.

a gloomy mood ushered in by bad news

When could glum be used to replace sullen?

In some situations, the words glum and sullen are roughly equivalent. However, 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 sullen?

Morose adds to glum an element of bitterness or misanthropy.

morose job seekers who are inured to rejection

When might saturnine be a better fit than sullen?

The meanings of saturnine and sullen largely overlap; however, saturnine describes a heavy forbidding aspect or suggests a bitter disposition.

a saturnine cynic always finding fault

When is it sensible to use sulky instead of sullen?

The synonyms sulky and sullen are sometimes interchangeable, but sulky suggests childish resentment expressed in peevish sullenness.

grew sulky after every spat

When can surly be used instead of sullen?

While in some cases nearly identical to sullen, 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 sullen Upon arriving at Angels camp last week, the perpetually sullen Rendon told reporters that baseball has never been his top priority — his faith and his family are — and that baseball is just a job to make a living. Bill Madden, New York Daily News, 24 Feb. 2024 Portia, the sullen teen who doesn’t even want to show her face to the camera, is the first one to crack. Brian Moylan, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2024 Both Ritter and the show around her get significantly better with the introduction of Fix’s Jules, who is funny and deservedly sullen and generally complex in ways the show desperately needed in her absence. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019 The actor and musician went viral during the Super Bowl for his reaction to being put on the jumbotron by waving and dancing, with some comparing his response to the more sullen reaction of Leonardo DiCaprio. Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024 See all Example Sentences for sullen 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sullen
Adjective
  • The somber music should have been my first clue, but I was too wrapped up in the euphoria of Jane soon realizing that someone valued her life enough to save her from certain death.
    Lincee Ray, EW.com, 18 Jan. 2025
  • When a photographer suggests that the family pose with a somber demeanor for a shot that will be featured in an article about Rubens’ disappearance, Eunice refuses, instructing her children to smile broadly.
    Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Matt Harrison, president of Kuka Home North America, which has a furniture manufacturing base in Monterrey, fears the future could be bleak.
    David Culver, CNN, 18 Jan. 2025
  • The negotiations have seemingly stalled and the market for him is bleak.
    Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 16 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • By the end, Liverpool’s players seemed tired and Klopp was irritable, clearly in need of a rest.
    Simon Hughes, The Athletic, 20 Jan. 2025
  • The trio’s sixth record is charmingly irritable in both of its moods: hopped up on fluffy coffee while cracking baseball jokes, or dragging out downbeats and lamenting power structures to goad listeners with mounting anticipation.
    Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 4 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • But for now, Bannon is a fairly lonely voice shouting against AI velocity.
    Axios, Axios, 18 Jan. 2025
  • Some suggested ways to make the dog feel less lonely when Lauren isn't home, such as leaving the TV on.
    John Mac Ghlionn, Newsweek, 14 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Horse race At the harness racing week on the Freehold Raceway in New Jersey: a reverse race with the sulky fixed in front of the horse - 1930.
    Contessa Brewer, CNBC, 31 Dec. 2024
  • Still, certain sensitivities might need to be respected as the excitable Gemini Moon shoves sulky Saturn.
    Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 27 Aug. 2024
Adjective
  • However, medication involving the anesthetic, ketamine, has shown promise in recent years for treating these hard-to-resolve depressive symptoms.
    Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 22 Jan. 2025
  • Zinc deficiency is correlated to depressive symptoms, anxiety-like behaviors, and even higher suicidal ideation risk.
    Amiah Taylor, Discover Magazine, 25 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • That criticism, along with other struggles, has seemingly influenced Davis to be in a surly and unpredictable mood over the past two months.
    Brian Mazique, Forbes, 12 Jan. 2025
  • Nero is a cynical and surly assassin who is betrayed by his master and long-term ally.
    Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 19 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • The Hughes Fire broke out in the late morning and within hours charred more than 15 square miles of trees and brush, sending up plumes of dark smoke near Lake Castaic, a popular recreation area about 40 miles from the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires that are burning for a third week.
    Marcio Jose Sanchez, Chicago Tribune, 22 Jan. 2025
  • The popular hangout also specializes in dark lagers and hoppy IPAs.
    Brad Japhe, Travel + Leisure, 22 Jan. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near sullen

Cite this Entry

“Sullen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sullen. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

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