SURLY Synonyms: 114 Similar and Opposite Words

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

Some common synonyms of surly are crabbed , gloomy , glum , morose , saturnine , sulky , and sullen . While all these words mean "showing a forbidding or disagreeable mood," surly implies gruffness and sullenness of speech or manner. // a typical surly teenager

Q: When is it sensible to use 'crabbed' instead of 'surly'?

While in some cases nearly identical to surly , crabbed applies to a forbidding morose harshness of manner. // the school's notoriously crabbed headmaster

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

The words gloomy and surly are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, gloomy implies a depression in mood making for seeming sullenness or glumness. // a gloomy mood ushered in by bad news

Q: When might 'glum' be a better fit than 'surly'?

The synonyms glum and surly are sometimes interchangeable, but 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 'surly'?

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

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

While the synonyms saturnine and surly are close in meaning, saturnine describes a heavy forbidding aspect or suggests a bitter disposition. // a saturnine cynic always finding fault

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

The meanings of sulky and surly largely overlap; however, sulky suggests childish resentment expressed in peevish sullenness. // grew sulky after every spat

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

In some situations, the words sullen and surly are roughly equivalent. However, sullen implies a silent ill humor and a refusal to be sociable. // remained sullen amid the festivities

surly

adjective

ˈsər-lē

Definition of surly next

as in pouting

given to or displaying a resentful silence and often irritability went about his chores in a surly huff, totally annoyed that he was stuck at home on this beautiful Saturday

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in irritable

having or showing a habitually bad temper the surly receptionist told us we'd have to wait outside in the rain

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

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

Some common synonyms of surly are crabbed, gloomy, glum, morose, saturnine, sulky, and sullen. While all these words mean "showing a forbidding or disagreeable mood," surly implies gruffness and sullenness of speech or manner.

a typical surly teenager

When is it sensible to use crabbed instead of surly?

While in some cases nearly identical to surly, crabbed applies to a forbidding morose harshness of manner.

the school's notoriously crabbed headmaster

When is gloomy a more appropriate choice than surly?

The words gloomy and surly are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, gloomy implies a depression in mood making for seeming sullenness or glumness.

a gloomy mood ushered in by bad news

When might glum be a better fit than surly?

The synonyms glum and surly are sometimes interchangeable, but 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 surly?

Morose adds to glum an element of bitterness or misanthropy.

morose job seekers who are inured to rejection

When could saturnine be used to replace surly?

While the synonyms saturnine and surly are close in meaning, saturnine describes a heavy forbidding aspect or suggests a bitter disposition.

a saturnine cynic always finding fault

When can sulky be used instead of surly?

The meanings of sulky and surly largely overlap; however, sulky suggests childish resentment expressed in peevish sullenness.

grew sulky after every spat

In what contexts can sullen take the place of surly?

In some situations, the words sullen and surly are roughly equivalent. However, sullen implies a silent ill humor and a refusal to be sociable.

remained sullen amid the festivities

Example 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 surly The Pacific Northwest, which has played host to a series of surly atmospheric rivers and a bomb cyclone in recent days, should finally quiet down. —

Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY, 25 Nov. 2024 Long assumed to be man-eaters, hammerhead sharks live in Florida, but very rarely bother humans. Sharks to watch out for in Florida (click for more): Bull Shark The prizefighter of the ocean: stout, surly and stubborn. —

Erik Vance, New York Times, 26 July 2024 The Eagles, who sold more than a hundred and fifty million albums, rode a tide of surly melancholy and bell-bottom jeans much further than anyone expected, and Henley viewed himself not merely as a celebrity with lawyers on call but as a troubadour in the heroic tradition. —

Tad Friend, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024 Way too little accountability Florida’s sweeping 2023 voucher expansion gives any parent in Florida roughly $8,000 in private school tuition to escape the surly bonds of a public system state lawmakers won’t adequately fund. —

Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 16 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for surly

Recent Examples of Synonyms for surly

Adjective

This misalignment impairs your sleep and concentration, and can leave you feeling irritable.

— Mackenzie Gamble, The Conversation, 10 Feb. 2025
Here’s one way to take your mind off a certain election that seems to have everyone tense and irritable these days — consider that Tahoe ski season is almost here.

— Randy McMullen, The Mercury News, 31 Oct. 2024