Synonym Chooser

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

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.

morose job seekers who are inured to rejection

When can crabbed be used instead of morose?

The synonyms crabbed and morose are sometimes interchangeable, but crabbed applies to a forbidding morose harshness of manner.

the school's notoriously crabbed headmaster

When is gloomy a more appropriate choice than morose?

The meanings of gloomy and morose largely overlap; however, gloomy implies a depression in mood making for seeming sullenness or glumness.

a gloomy mood ushered in by bad news

In what contexts can glum take the place of morose?

The words glum and morose are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, glum suggests a silent dispiritedness.

a glum candidate left to ponder a stunning defeat

Where would saturnine be a reasonable alternative to morose?

Although the words saturnine and morose have much in common, 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 morose?

While the synonyms sulky and morose are close in meaning, sulky suggests childish resentment expressed in peevish sullenness.

grew sulky after every spat

When could sullen be used to replace morose?

The words sullen and morose can be used in similar contexts, but sullen implies a silent ill humor and a refusal to be sociable.

remained sullen amid the festivities

When might surly be a better fit than morose?

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

a typical surly teenager

Example 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 morose Tim Burton’s two marvelous Batman movies took the character’s morose nature seriously, but not more seriously than his savoir faire: the Burton Batman movies also have gothic elegance on their side. Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 11 July 2025 In an intimate huddle, Costello and his band members harmonized on the morose country track, all underscored with plucky upright bass. Audrey Gibbs, The Tennessean, 6 July 2025 The staffing up is also a sign of green shoots at an otherwise morose time for media. Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 1 July 2025 Based on the memoir of a real doctor, the stories and tribulations feel achingly real, and Whishaw's sly smile and tongue-in-cheek delivery keeps the depressing stories from becoming too morose. Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 8 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for morose
Recent Examples of Synonyms for morose
Adjective
  • The White House moved Thursday's 9/11 ceremony at the Pentagon into the courtyard, away from the 9/11 memorial where the somber ceremony has been held for decades, in light of Kirk's killing.
    Alexandra Hutzler, ABC News, 11 Sep. 2025
  • This was a somber visit, and the group was reverent, hushed.
    Jim Clash, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Not all of Mythopedia is so bleak—just my favorite parts.
    Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
  • When kittens Sam and Frodo were found, survival odds were bleak.
    Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Buchwald pointed to research from The Lancet Psychiatry which found adults who engaged in regular physical activity experienced a 25 percent reduction in depressive symptoms.
    Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
  • As someone who has never been swayed by Gad’s particular brand of obnoxiously chipper humor, Noah’s depressive snark finds him in a much more comfortable register.
    Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • In the end, the depressing counter, which ended in the red, was pumped up by a pair of donations from Bargatze and CBS, bringing the end total to $350,000.
    Sandra Gonzalez, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2025
  • The amount of layoffs that would result from this merger is depressing to consider.
    Josef Adalian, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Breaking free from the isolation tax isn’t just about feeling less lonely.
    Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
  • There are a lot of lonely people out there.
    Latoya Gayle, PEOPLE, 14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The night serum visibly smooths wrinkles, reduces fine lines, and soothes the appearance of dark circles and uneven skin tone.
    Gabriela Izquierdo, Southern Living, 17 Sep. 2025
  • The scent is smoky yet sweet, spicy yet smooth, dark but with an underlying lightness—the result of combining clean white musk with rose, tobacco, suede, and cumin.
    Sophia Panych, Allure, 16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The lock screen on the Mac remains a desolate place, relative to the same area in both iOS and iPadOS—this is still a no-notifications, no-widgets zone that exists only to keep your Mac locked.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 15 Sep. 2025
  • While the rest of Burning Man celebrated, Kruglov lay prostrate on the ground at a faraway campsite in a comparatively desolate section of Black Rock City, his throat slashed, as a puddle of blood congealed around his lifeless body.
    Denver Nicks, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Netflix struck gold with Wednesday, the supernatural horror-comedy centered on the sardonically morbid teenage daughter of the Addams Family.
    Allison DeGrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Sep. 2025
  • The morbid scene was quite a shock for our trio of sleuths, and for audiences.
    Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Morose.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/morose. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.

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