Synonyms of sullen

sullen

adjective

ˈsə-lən 

1

as in somber

causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer

sullen skies that matched our mood on the day of the funeral

Synonyms & Similar Words

• somber
• bleak
• lonely
• depressive
• dark
• depressing
• desolate
• solemn
• darkening
• murky
• gray
• lonesome
• cold
• morbid
• miserable
• blue
• morose
• depressed
• black
• cheerless
• glum
• gloomy
• wretched
• forlorn
• disconsolate
• lugubrious
• saturnine
• sad
• chill
• funereal
• dreary
• dismal
• melancholy
• sepulchral
• oppressive
• elegiac
• comfortless
• cloudy
• dire
• unhappy
• drear
• dejected
• tenebrous
• desperate
• dreich
• mournful
• godforsaken
• woebegone
• melancholic
• dull
• Cimmerian
• hopeless
• plutonian
• despondent
• dim
• sunless
• mirthless
• inconsolable
• grim
• negative
• menacing
• droopy
• woeful
• low
• pessimistic
• hangdog
• sorrowful
• discouraging
• tenebrific
• distressful
• dispiriting
• plaintive
• upsetting
• dismaying
• down
• drab
• distressing
• dour
• disheartening
• lamentable
• colorless
• discomfiting
• threatening
• lowering
• lowery

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• cheerful
• friendly
• bright
• cheery
• cordial
• gay
• festive
• comforting
• sunshiny
• merry
• joyous
• jolly
• joyful
• buoyant
• blithe
• mirthful
• gay
• optimistic
• hopeful
• encouraging
• cheering
• blithesome
• jocund
• heartwarming
• lighthearted
• lightsome

2

as in pouting

given to or displaying a resentful silence and often irritability

sullen and bored at his in-laws' house, he couldn't wait for the holidays to end

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pouting
• irritable
• sulky
• surly
• pouty
• glum
• brooding
• mopey
• morose
• dour
• petulant
• sensitive
• gloomy
• peevish
• cross
• irascible
• snappish
• grumpy
• grouchy
• waspish
• disagreeable
• crotchety
• pettish
• crabby
• testy
• choleric
• snarky
• raspy
• cantankerous
• ornery
• cranky
• bilious
• snippy
• dyspeptic
• short-tempered
• tetchy
• ratty
• perverse
• prickly
• quick-tempered
• huffy
• ill-tempered
• moping
• ill-humored
• temperamental
• ill-natured
• bearish
• snippety
• snappy
• touchy
• thin-skinned

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• cheerful
• sociable
• cheery
• good-natured
• sunny
• perky
• carefree
• easygoing
• good-humored
• relaxed
• good-tempered
• gladsome
• happy-go-lucky

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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of sullen

The administration instead released a photo of him running a secondary meeting at the White House, flanked by a can of Diet Mountain Dew and a sullen-looking Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence. —Idrees Kahloon, The Atlantic, 5 Mar. 2026

My father was also sullen from the vodka, and after grumbling some would fall asleep on his grungy sleeper berth. —Literary Hub, 23 Jan. 2026

And Venter’s fiery and edgy Jessie May is sullen, controlling and cruel. —Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Jan. 2026

While Nina’s 7-year-old daughter, Cece (Indiana Elle), is sullen, and her dreamboat husband, Andrew (Brandon Sklenar), is politely cautious about the prospect of a live-in housekeeper, Nina herself seems nice enough at first, if a little intense. —Alison Willmore, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025