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 But none of it would have landed had Gad, Lee, and the rest of the Frozen 2 creative team stuck with the morose original cut. Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 15 Jan. 2025 And, unrehearsed, Rogers sang the morose song of past love and played the piano, a real treat for fans who've been following her for the past decade. Audrey Gibbs, The Tennessean, 13 Oct. 2024 Labuschagne cut a rather morose figure in the first Bazball- inspired Ashes encounter in June last year. Tim Ellis, Forbes, 2 Dec. 2024 That said, this encounter between a morose Jamie and his sister’s housemaid, Mary McNab, is a meaningful one and bears including. Amy Wilkinson, Vulture, 23 Nov. 2024 See All Example Sentences for morose
Recent Examples of Synonyms for morose
Adjective
  • Party leaders asked their members ahead of the address to maintain a dignified and somber presence in the chamber during Trump's speech.
    Barbara Sprunt, NPR, 6 Mar. 2025
  • The mix of Black trauma and White philanthropy created a peculiar vibe in the event space, at once somber and thrilling, mournful and hopeful.
    Nicholas Lalla, WIRED, 4 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Even the relatively staid premiere stole a handful of grim chuckles thanks to its guest star’s exceedingly blasé delivery of impossibly bleak news.
    Ben Travers, IndieWire, 9 Mar. 2025
  • Yet if Mickey’s life is suffocatingly bleak, Mickey 17 is anything but.
    Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Researchers were surprised that the decrease in depressive symptoms was on par or even more significant than the reductions documented in studies of people taking antidepressant medications.
    Brittney Melton, NPR, 25 Feb. 2025
  • Tragically, they are killed by their mother, who drowns them in a manic depressive episode while their father is away on business.
    Nicole Briese, People.com, 19 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • That depressing fact gets reiterated many times, without much variation or additional insight, during Running Point’s 10-episode season.
    EW.com, EW.com, 27 Feb. 2025
  • In this new techno-dating reality, the number of fights sparked by clothes being left on the floor would dramatically decrease, instead being replaced by not-at-all depressing scenes of men standing alone in their apartments talking to a speaker.
    Nic Juarez, Vulture, 19 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Another remembers her lonely childhood with a single mother and resolved it with a partner from a large family and three children.
    Hazlitt, Hazlitt, 5 Mar. 2025
  • This distinction is important: your parent might live alone without feeling isolated, or conversely, feel lonely despite being surrounded by people.
    Carolyn Rosenblatt, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • An open-wide view is way more important than a dark sky.
    Jamie Carter, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025
  • The fire broke out when the bus was on the corner of Cambridge and Northampton roads in the Cleveland area, filling the suburban street with a dark cloud of smoke.
    Kyla Guilfoil, NBC News, 27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • This powerful film tells of the friendship between a young man and a peasant farmer who has devoted his life to planting trees throughout his desolate homeland.
    Jeremy Fassler, Vulture, 2 Mar. 2025
  • Orphaned at 3 years old and robbed of her fortune, she’s dragged aboard a ship sailing for New France by her guardian, only to be abandoned on a desolate island.
    Staff, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • March brings his Everyman charisma to the part of Dr. Jekyll, a scientist with a morbid fascination with the goodness and evil of humanity.
    EW.com, EW.com, 2 Mar. 2025
  • The performance will feature a morbid dose of puppetry, clowning, dance, live music and stop-motion animation.
    Jennifer Day, Chicago Tribune, 21 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Morose.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/morose. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.

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