Morose | Definition of morose by Merriam-Webster

Full Definition of MOROSE

1

: having a sullen and gloomy disposition

2

: marked by or expressive of gloom

— mo·rose·ly adverb

— mo·rose·ness noun

— mo·ros·i·ty \-ˈrä-sə-tē\ noun

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Examples of MOROSE

She thought of the bootlegger at home—a raddled, skinny old man, morose and suspicious. He sat on his front step with a shotgun on Halloween night. —Alice Munro, Runaway, 2004
We have little finished footage to go by, but enough to give us pause: an exquisite clip of Rochefort, sitting with a book in the half-darkness, his eyes wet, gleaming, and morose. —Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2003
I have never known if Momma sent for us, or if the St. Louis family just got fed up with my grim presence. There is nothing more appalling than a constantly morose child. —Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 1969
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Origin of MOROSE

Latin morosus, literally, capricious, from mor-, mos will

First Known Use: 1565

Related to MOROSE

Synonyms: black, bleak, cheerless, chill, Cimmerian, cloudy, cold, comfortless, dark, darkening, depressing, depressive, desolate, dire, disconsolate, dismal, drear, dreary, dreich [chiefly Scottish], elegiac (also elegiacal), forlorn, funereal, glum, godforsaken, gray (also grey), lonely, lonesome, lugubrious, miserable, morbid, gloomy, murky, plutonian, saturnine, sepulchral, solemn, somber (or sombre), sullen, sunless, tenebrific, tenebrous, wretched

Antonyms: bright, cheerful, cheering, cheery, comforting, cordial, festive, friendly, gay, heartwarming, sunshiny

Synonym Discussion of MOROSE

sullen, glum, morose, surly, sulky, crabbed, saturnine, gloomy mean showing a forbidding or disagreeable mood. sullen implies a silent ill humor and a refusal to be sociable <remained sullen amid the festivities>. glum suggests a silent dispiritedness <a glum candidate left to ponder a stunning defeat>. morose adds to glum an element of bitterness or misanthropy <morose job seekers who are inured to rejection>. surly implies gruffness and sullenness of speech or manner <a typical surly teenager>. sulky suggests childish resentment expressed in peevish sullenness <grew sulky after every spat>. crabbed applies to a forbidding morose harshness of manner <the school's notoriously crabbed headmaster>. saturnine describes a heavy forbidding aspect or suggests a bitter disposition <a saturnine cynic always finding fault>. gloomy implies a depression in mood making for seeming sullenness or glumness <a gloomy mood ushered in by bad news>.

Rhymes with MOROSE

arkose, Carlos, cosmos, crustose, cymose, dextrose, engross, erose, fructose, globose, glucose, jocose, lactose, maltose, mannose, mythos, nodose, pappose, pentose, pilose, plumose, ramose, rhamnose, ribose, rugose, schistose, setose, spinose, strigose, sucrose, Sukkoth, triose, up close, vadose, verbose, viscose

Definition of MOROSE for Kids

: very serious, unhappy, and quiet <She became morose and spoke to no one.>

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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for "morose"

Spanish Central: Spanish translation of "morose"

Nglish: Translation of "morose" for Spanish speakers

Britannica English: Translation of "morose" for Arabic speakers

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