sulk
1 of 2verb
ˈsəlk 
sulked; sulking; sulks
intransitive verb
: to be moodily silent
sulk
2 of 2noun
1
: the state of one sulking —often used in plural
had a case of the sulks
2
: a sulky mood or spell
in a sulk
Synonyms
Verb
- grump
- mope
- pout
Noun
- grouch
- hump [British]
- pet
- pouts
- snit
- sulkiness
- sullenness
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Verb He went to sulk in his room. She has been sulking all day. Noun a child sitting in a sulk over a minor disagreement
Recent Examples on the Web
Miri Talabac, Baltimore Sun, 6 Apr. 2022 That doesn’t mean an end to single-family homes, or that quaint bungalows will soon sulk in the shadows of towering apartment buildings. Jon Gorey, BostonGlobe.com, 26 Dec. 2021 Yes, many people do, and many who do not will sulk when their birthdays are not acknowledged. Washington Post, 28 June 2021 But this front office will not sulk and will get back to work in preparation for a crucial offseason, even without a first-round pick in hand. Jason Patt, Forbes, 23 June 2021 When Last Man Standing wasn’t picked up for the 10th season, fans everywhere started to sulk over how their favorite sitcom would end. Rebecca Norris, Country Living, 20 May 2021 All that was left was to bury my head in the pillow and try to sulk an apology out of her. Robert Tate Miller, The Christian Science Monitor, 23 Dec. 2020 Rivers had to learn that lesson long ago, to block it out and not to bring it home, not to sit and sulk with his wife, Tiffany, and their nine children. Joel A. Erickson, The Indianapolis Star, 14 Oct. 2020 The Celtics entered last season with an abundance of talent, leaving coach Brad Stevens with difficult choices to make when distributing playing time, and sometimes leaving deserving players sulking about their roles. BostonGlobe.com, 18 Dec. 2019 Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 16 Sep. 2022 The team is horrified to watch sweet little Hughie become corrupted by power… but there's no time to sulk. Alex Raiman, EW.com, 10 June 2022 The summits abruptly ended after that since Obama's successor, President Donald Trump, had no interest in being anybody's amigo, as his campaign based on insulting Mexicans and an outrageous sulk at the G7 summit in Canada made quite clear. Stephen Collinson, CNN, 18 Nov. 2021 As Woodson pointed out, the Big Ten schedule offers no time to sulk. Dustin Dopirak, The Indianapolis Star, 6 Jan. 2022 Clinton and Penny reserve their darkest shade for former President Eric Dunn, a preening, bombastic one-termer who shredded the country’s reputation and retreated to Florida to sulk, play golf and plot his return. Sarah Lyall, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2021 Dumpty grudgingly consented in a sour and surly sulk. John Lithgow, The New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2021 In the wild-card chase with precious few games left, the Mariners don’t have time to sulk after tough losses. San Francisco Chronicle, 8 Sep. 2021 Her anger and fatigue color her early opinions of other nuns, and Groff beautifully captures Marie’s teenaged sulk. Lorraine Berry, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2021 See More
Verb
In comparison, some may sulk if they’re exposed to temperatures below 60 degrees. Miri Talabac, Baltimore Sun, 6 Apr. 2022 That doesn’t mean an end to single-family homes, or that quaint bungalows will soon sulk in the shadows of towering apartment buildings. Jon Gorey, BostonGlobe.com, 26 Dec. 2021 Yes, many people do, and many who do not will sulk when their birthdays are not acknowledged. Washington Post, 28 June 2021 But this front office will not sulk and will get back to work in preparation for a crucial offseason, even without a first-round pick in hand. Jason Patt, Forbes, 23 June 2021 When Last Man Standing wasn’t picked up for the 10th season, fans everywhere started to sulk over how their favorite sitcom would end. Rebecca Norris, Country Living, 20 May 2021 All that was left was to bury my head in the pillow and try to sulk an apology out of her. Robert Tate Miller, The Christian Science Monitor, 23 Dec. 2020 Rivers had to learn that lesson long ago, to block it out and not to bring it home, not to sit and sulk with his wife, Tiffany, and their nine children. Joel A. Erickson, The Indianapolis Star, 14 Oct. 2020 The Celtics entered last season with an abundance of talent, leaving coach Brad Stevens with difficult choices to make when distributing playing time, and sometimes leaving deserving players sulking about their roles. BostonGlobe.com, 18 Dec. 2019 Noun
While Donald Trump continues to sulk and stew over his 2020 election loss — so unfair! Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 16 Sep. 2022 The team is horrified to watch sweet little Hughie become corrupted by power… but there's no time to sulk. Alex Raiman, EW.com, 10 June 2022 The summits abruptly ended after that since Obama's successor, President Donald Trump, had no interest in being anybody's amigo, as his campaign based on insulting Mexicans and an outrageous sulk at the G7 summit in Canada made quite clear. Stephen Collinson, CNN, 18 Nov. 2021 As Woodson pointed out, the Big Ten schedule offers no time to sulk. Dustin Dopirak, The Indianapolis Star, 6 Jan. 2022 Clinton and Penny reserve their darkest shade for former President Eric Dunn, a preening, bombastic one-termer who shredded the country’s reputation and retreated to Florida to sulk, play golf and plot his return. Sarah Lyall, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2021 Dumpty grudgingly consented in a sour and surly sulk. John Lithgow, The New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2021 In the wild-card chase with precious few games left, the Mariners don’t have time to sulk after tough losses. San Francisco Chronicle, 8 Sep. 2021 Her anger and fatigue color her early opinions of other nuns, and Groff beautifully captures Marie’s teenaged sulk. Lorraine Berry, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Verb
back-formation from sulky
First Known Use
Verb
1781, in the meaning defined above
Noun
1804, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing sulk
Kids Definition
sulk 1 of 2
verb
ˈsəlk
sulked; sulking
: to be angry or irritable about something but childishly refuse to talk about it
sulk
2 of 2noun
1
: the state of a person who is sullenly silent or irritable
He has a case of the sulks.
2
: a sulky mood
She's in a sulk.
sulk 1 of 2
noun
as in pouts
a state of resentful silence or irritability a child sitting in a sulk over a minor disagreement Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- pouts
- sulkiness
- snit
- irritability
- dumps
- sullenness
- pet
- blues
- irritableness
- fretfulness
- crossness
- mopes
- grouch
- petulance
- sensitivity
- surliness
- grumpiness
- grouchiness
- peevishness
- hump
- surliness
- testiness
- crankiness
- disagreeableness
- irascibility
- perversity
- biliousness
- cantankerousness
- querulousness
- perverseness
- orneriness
- dyspepsia
- fantods
- choler
- waspishness
- pettishness
- huffiness
- fussiness
- irascibleness
- crotchetiness
- oversensitiveness
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- gaiety
- cheerfulness
- gayety
- perkiness
- lightheartedness
- sociability
- graciousness
- friendliness
- sociality
- pleasantness
- agreeableness
- geniality
- gladsomeness
- affability
- amicability
- high-spiritedness
- cordiality
- amenity
- amiability
- amiableness
- good-naturedness
- good-temperedness
- good-humoredness
sulk
2 of 2verb
as in to pout
to silently go about in a bad mood the toddler would sulk for hours whenever he didn't get his way Synonyms & Similar Words
- pout
- mope
- frown
- scowl
- grump
- brood
- ponder
- glower
- lower
- pet
- mull (over)
- dwell (on)
- muse (over)
- lour
- take on
- carry on