morose
adjective
Synonyms
- black
- bleak
- cheerless
- chill
- Cimmerian
- cloudy
- cold
- comfortless
- dark
- darkening
- depressing
- depressive
- desolate
- dire
- disconsolate
- dismal
- drear
- dreary
- dreich [chiefly Scottish]
- elegiac
- elegiacal
- forlorn
- funereal
- gloomy
- glum
- godforsaken
- gray
- grey
- lonely
- lonesome
- lugubrious
- miserable
- morbid
- murky
- plutonian
- saturnine
- sepulchral
- solemn
- somber
- sombre
- sullen
- sunless
- tenebrific
- tenebrous
- wretched
Example Sentences
Alice Munro, Runaway, 2004 We have little finished footage to go by, but enough to give us pause: an exquisite clip of Rochefort, sitting with a book in the half-darkness, his eyes wet, gleaming, and morose. Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2003 I have never known if Momma sent for us, or if the St. Louis family just got fed up with my grim presence. There is nothing more appalling than a constantly morose child. Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 1969 He became morose and withdrawn and would not talk to anyone. those morose job seekers who have grown accustomed to rejection Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes, 16 June 2022 Between the album’s many attempts at confessional music is a sprinkling of the indistinct pop that Post has been refining over the years, clearly meant to keep things from getting too morose. Sheldon Pearce, The New Yorker, 9 June 2022 In the first couple of episodes of the new show, Pike is morose and obsessing about his future. Scott D. Pierce, The Salt Lake Tribune, 5 May 2022 While one game in the collection hinges on death and the afterlife in a slightly morose way, and another includes black-and-white, small-sprite samurai combat (and is awesome), this content is fine for anyone 12 and up. Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, 18 Apr. 2022 All of Degas’s ironic, morose and unsentimental intelligence is on display in these sentences. Washington Post, 17 Nov. 2021 This is a morose serial-killer thriller, visually muted like a TV movie. Gem Seddon, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2021 Campus was quiet and morose, the silences quivering with early-term nerves. New York Times, 2 Feb. 2021 Even as tech optimism is obvious, sentiment in much of the rest of the market remains morose. James Mackintosh, WSJ, 6 Sep. 2020 See More Word History
Latin morosus, literally, capricious, from mor-, mos will
1565, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
morose
adjective
morose
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- somber
- depressive
- bleak
- depressing
- lonely
- dark
- darkening
- desolate
- morbid
- solemn
- lonesome
- depressed
- sullen
- gray
- murky
- cold
- glum
- miserable
- lugubrious
- gloomy
- funereal
- disconsolate
- cheerless
- melancholy
- saturnine
- sad
- black
- blue
- elegiac
- forlorn
- wretched
- dreary
- sombre
- chill
- dismal
- sepulchral
- drear
- grey
- oppressive
- cloudy
- dire
- melancholic
- comfortless
- godforsaken
- tenebrous
- dejected
- unhappy
- mournful
- sunless
- despondent
- woebegone
- dreich
- plutonian
- mirthless
- hopeless
- dull
- hangdog
- desperate
- grim
- inconsolable
- pessimistic
- elegiacal
- sorrowful
- dispiriting
- distressful
- droopy
- negative
- dim
- dour
- menacing
- Cimmerian
- disheartening
- discouraging
- distressing
- tenebrific
- woeful
- plaintive
- upsetting
- dismaying
- discomfiting
- down
- low
- drab
- lamentable
- colorless
- threatening
- lowery
- louring
- lowering
- loury
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- cheerful
- cheery
- bright
- friendly
- festive
- jolly
- joyous
- cordial
- sunshiny
- comforting
- joyful
- gay
- buoyant
- mirthful
- merry
- blithe
- optimistic
- gay
- hopeful
- blithesome
- heartwarming
- lighthearted
- cheering
- encouraging
- jocund
- lightsome
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of morose are crabbed, gloomy, glum, saturnine, sulky, sullen, and surly. While all these words mean "showing a forbidding or disagreeable mood," morose adds to glum an element of bitterness or misanthropy.
The synonyms crabbed and morose are sometimes interchangeable, but crabbed applies to a forbidding morose harshness of manner.
The meanings of gloomy and morose largely overlap; however, gloomy implies a depression in mood making for seeming sullenness or glumness.
The words glum and morose are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, glum suggests a silent dispiritedness.
Although the words saturnine and morose have much in common, saturnine describes a heavy forbidding aspect or suggests a bitter disposition.
While the synonyms sulky and morose are close in meaning, sulky suggests childish resentment expressed in peevish sullenness.
The words sullen and morose can be used in similar contexts, but sullen implies a silent ill humor and a refusal to be sociable.
While in some cases nearly identical to morose, surly implies gruffness and sullenness of speech or manner.