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Synonyms

dour

American  
[door, douuhr, dou-er] / dʊər, daʊər, ˈdaʊ ər /

adjective

  1. sullen; gloomy.

    The captain's dour look depressed us all.
    Synonyms:
    moody, sour, morose

  2. severe; stern.

    His dour criticism made us regret having undertaken the job.

  3. Scot. (of land) barren; rocky, infertile, or otherwise difficult or impossible to cultivate.

dour British  
/ ˈdaʊə, dʊə /

adjective

  1. sullen

  2. hard or obstinate

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See glum.

Other Word Forms

  • dourly adverb
  • dourness noun

Etymology

Origin of dour

1325–75; Middle English, from Latin dūrus dure 1

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.