Surly
/ˈsɜːli/ adj, adv
adj, adv ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly.
- 2 Threatening, menacing, gloomy.
"The surly weather put us all in a bad mood."
- 3 Lordly, arrogant, supercilious. obsolete
Adjective
- 1 inclined to anger or bad feelings with overtones of menace wordnet
Adverb
- 1 In an arrogant or supercilious manner. obsolete
"Against the Capitol I met a lion / Who glazed upon me, and went surly by / Without annoying me […]"
Example
More examples"The food was horrible, and the waiter, surly."
Etymology
16th-century alteration of sirly, from sir + -ly.