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View synonyms for dour

dour

[ door, douuhr, dou-er ]

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

/ 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


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Derived Forms

  • ˈdourness, noun
  • ˈdourly, adverb
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Other Words From

  • dourly adverb
  • dourness noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of dour1

1325–75; Middle English, from Latin dūrus dure 1
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Word History and Origins

Origin of dour1

C14: probably from Latin dūrus hard
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Synonym Study

See glum.
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Example Sentences

The tasting became known as the Judgment of Paris and was portrayed in the 2008 movie “Bottle Shock,” in which the jovial Spurrier was played by a dour Alan Rickman.

Snyder grabbed the football where Nolan left it and sprinted ahead with an even more dour fictional world in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman.

From Time

Occasionally dour analyst Stacy Rasgon at Bernstein Research tried to temper the joy somewhat.

From Fortune

Gin and short dresses defeated dour concern with the world’s problems.

From Fortune

The dour among us might point out that such parallels can only go so far.

This decline, not surprisingly, has engendered a dour mood among much of the yeomanry.

And so the Libyan revolution was intoxicating, which is why the world watched it much more closely than the dour Syrian struggle.

Queen Victoria had the reputation of being a humorless, dour battleaxe, a Terminator in bombazine.

His substitutions had no impact, his halftime team talks were ineffective, and his on-field strategy remained dour.

While it was a lifetime achievement for Goebel, it was another dour disappointment for Kwan: another Olympics and no gold medal.

He reached the town in a dour mood of unrest, spite of the promise of wealth he carried in his pocket.

After daring and trying and tiring, these dour men eventually turned adre, which is Cornish for homeward.

Thornton's as dour as a door-nail; an obstinate chap, every inch on him,—th' oud bulldog!'

Through the garden with lowered eyes, past a dour-looking priest with a small paunch.

Possibly these melancholy matters heightened the dour mood of my new friend, who stayed silent.

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