sulk
/sʌlk
/verb [no object]
Be silent, morose, and bad-tempered out of annoyance or disappointment: he was sulking over the break-up of his band...
- With that the writer returned to his seat and didn't write for another 10 minutes as he was sulking.
- As the Sparks made a celebratory jaunt off the court, the Storm players dipped their heads and sulked into the locker room.
- And after heated arguments and manic flicking through the pages of the dictionary, I lost the game, and sulked.
Synonyms
mope, brood, pout, be sullen, have a long face, be in a bad mood, be put out, be out of sorts, be out of humour, be grumpy, be despondent, be moody, be resentful, pine, harbour a grudge, eat one's heart out, moon about/around
informal be in a huff, be down in the dumps, be miffed, glower
noun
A period of sulking: she was in a fit of the sulks...
- After much badgering and a spectacular case of the sulks, Mum admitted defeat, unlocked the safe and sent us to a proper barber shop.
- Summer decided to take the day off today, turning over to a chill, grey, rainy fit of the sulks.
- He had been warned by one of his aides that the cameras were panting to snap any display of the sulks.
Synonyms
bad mood, fit of bad humour, fit of ill humour, fit of pique, pet, mood, pout, temper, bad temper, the sulks, the doldrums, the blues
informal huff, grump
British informal strop, paddy
Derivatives
sulker
- He claimed the Kiwis mocked his English parentage and lack of enthusiasm for rugby; they thought he was a self-absorbed sulker.
- Nicky Law wants battlers not sulkers in his dressing room.
- If you haven't noticed, I'm an excellent sulker.
Origin
Late 18th century: perhaps a back-formation from sulky.