sullen

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. adjective showing a brooding ill humor; ; ; ; ; ; - Bruce Bliven
  2. adjective darkened by clouds

Etymology

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.

In classic literature

Synonyms

dark, dour, glowering, glum, moody, morose, saturnine, sour

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