Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Sullen

//ˈsʌlən// adj, noun, verb

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Having a brooding ill temper; sulky.

    "Still she entreats, and prettily entreats, / For to a pretty ear she tunes her tale; / Still is he sullen, still he lours and frets, / ‘Twixt crimson shame and anger ashy-pale;"

  2. 2
    Gloomy; dismal; foreboding.

    "a sullen atmosphere"

  3. 3
    Sluggish; slow.

    "The larger [stream] was placid, and even sullen, in its course."

  4. 4
    Mischievous; malignant; unpropitious. obsolete

    "Such sullen planets at my birth did shine, / They threaten every Fortune mixt with mine."

  5. 5
    Obstinate; intractable. obsolete

    "Things are as sullen as we are, and will be what they are whatever we think of them."

Adjective
  1. 1
    darkened by clouds wordnet
  2. 2
    showing a brooding ill humor wordnet
Noun
  1. 1
    One who is solitary, or lives alone; a hermit. archaic

    "He sit neither with seint Johan, / Symond ne Jude, / Ne with maydenes ne with martires, / Confessours ne wydewes; / But by hymself as a soleyn, / And served on erthe."

  2. 2
    Sullen feelings or manners; sulks; moroseness. in-plural

    "And let them die that age and sullens have;"

Verb
  1. 1
    To make sullen. obsolete

    "The idle man is like the dumb jack in a virginal: while all the other dance out a winning music, this, like a member out of joint, sullens the whole body, with an ill disturbing laziness."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English soleyn, from Anglo-Norman soleyn (“alone”), from Old French sole (“single, sole, alone”), from Latin sōlus (“by oneself alone”). The change in meaning from "single" to morose occurred in Middle English.

Etymology 2

From Middle English soleyn, from Anglo-Norman soleyn (“alone”), from Old French sole (“single, sole, alone”), from Latin sōlus (“by oneself alone”). The change in meaning from "single" to morose occurred in Middle English.

Etymology 3

From Middle English soleyn, from Anglo-Norman soleyn (“alone”), from Old French sole (“single, sole, alone”), from Latin sōlus (“by oneself alone”). The change in meaning from "single" to morose occurred in Middle English.

See also for "sullen"

Synonyms Antonyms Rhymes Sentences Translate Word Type Pronunciation Word Forms

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: sullen