SULLEN Synonyms: 174 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'sullen' different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of sullen are crabbed , gloomy , glum , morose , saturnine , sulky , and surly . While all these words mean "showing a forbidding or disagreeable mood," sullen implies a silent ill humor and a refusal to be sociable. // remained sullen amid the festivities

Q: In what contexts can 'crabbed' take the place of 'sullen'?

While the synonyms crabbed and sullen are close in meaning, crabbed applies to a forbidding morose harshness of manner. // the school's notoriously crabbed headmaster

Q: When would 'gloomy' be a good substitute for 'sullen'?

Although the words gloomy and sullen have much in common, gloomy implies a depression in mood making for seeming sullenness or glumness. // a gloomy mood ushered in by bad news

Q: When could 'glum' be used to replace 'sullen'?

In some situations, the words glum and sullen are roughly equivalent. However, glum suggests a silent dispiritedness. // a glum candidate left to ponder a stunning defeat

Q: How do 'morose' and 'glum' relate to one another, in the sense of 'sullen'?

Morose adds to glum an element of bitterness or misanthropy. // morose job seekers who are inured to rejection

Q: When might 'saturnine' be a better fit than 'sullen'?

The meanings of saturnine and sullen largely overlap; however, saturnine describes a heavy forbidding aspect or suggests a bitter disposition. // a saturnine cynic always finding fault

Q: When is it sensible to use 'sulky' instead of 'sullen'?

The synonyms sulky and sullen are sometimes interchangeable, but sulky suggests childish resentment expressed in peevish sullenness. // grew sulky after every spat

Q: When can 'surly' be used instead of 'sullen'?

While in some cases nearly identical to sullen , surly implies gruffness and sullenness of speech or manner. // a typical surly teenager

sullen

adjective

ˈsə-lən

Definition of sullen next

as in somber

causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer sullen skies that matched our mood on the day of the funeral

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in pouting

given to or displaying a resentful silence and often irritability sullen and bored at his in-laws' house, he couldn't wait for the holidays to end

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word sullen different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of sullen are crabbed, gloomy, glum, morose, saturnine, sulky, and surly. While all these words mean "showing a forbidding or disagreeable mood," sullen implies a silent ill humor and a refusal to be sociable.

remained sullen amid the festivities

In what contexts can crabbed take the place of sullen?

While the synonyms crabbed and sullen are close in meaning, crabbed applies to a forbidding morose harshness of manner.

the school's notoriously crabbed headmaster

When would gloomy be a good substitute for sullen?

Although the words gloomy and sullen have much in common, gloomy implies a depression in mood making for seeming sullenness or glumness.

a gloomy mood ushered in by bad news

When could glum be used to replace sullen?

In some situations, the words glum and sullen are roughly equivalent. However, glum suggests a silent dispiritedness.

a glum candidate left to ponder a stunning defeat

How do morose and glum relate to one another, in the sense of sullen?

Morose adds to glum an element of bitterness or misanthropy.

morose job seekers who are inured to rejection

When might saturnine be a better fit than sullen?

The meanings of saturnine and sullen largely overlap; however, saturnine describes a heavy forbidding aspect or suggests a bitter disposition.

a saturnine cynic always finding fault

When is it sensible to use sulky instead of sullen?

The synonyms sulky and sullen are sometimes interchangeable, but sulky suggests childish resentment expressed in peevish sullenness.

grew sulky after every spat

When can surly be used instead of sullen?

While in some cases nearly identical to sullen, surly implies gruffness and sullenness of speech or manner.

a typical surly teenager

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of sullen Upon arriving at Angels camp last week, the perpetually sullen Rendon told reporters that baseball has never been his top priority — his faith and his family are — and that baseball is just a job to make a living. —

Bill Madden, New York Daily News, 24 Feb. 2024 Portia, the sullen teen who doesn’t even want to show her face to the camera, is the first one to crack. —

Brian Moylan, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2024 Both Ritter and the show around her get significantly better with the introduction of Fix’s Jules, who is funny and deservedly sullen and generally complex in ways the show desperately needed in her absence. —

Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019 The actor and musician went viral during the Super Bowl for his reaction to being put on the jumbotron by waving and dancing, with some comparing his response to the more sullen reaction of Leonardo DiCaprio. —

Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024 See all Example Sentences for sullen

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sullen

Adjective

The somber music should have been my first clue, but I was too wrapped up in the euphoria of Jane soon realizing that someone valued her life enough to save her from certain death.

— Lincee Ray, EW.com, 18 Jan. 2025
When a photographer suggests that the family pose with a somber demeanor for a shot that will be featured in an article about Rubens’ disappearance, Eunice refuses, instructing her children to smile broadly.

— Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2025