morose

[ muh-rohs ]
See synonyms for: morosemoroselymoroseness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. gloomily or sullenly ill-humored, as a person or mood.

  2. characterized by or expressing gloom.

Origin of morose

1
First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin mōrōsus “fretful, peevish, willful,” equivalent to mōr- (stem of mōs ) “will, inclination” + -ōsus adjective suffix (see -ose1)

synonym study For morose

1. See glum.

Other words for morose

Opposites for morose

Other words from morose

  • mo·rose·ly, adverb
  • mo·rose·ness, mo·ros·i·ty [muh-ros-i-tee], /məˈrɒs ɪ ti/, noun
  • su·per·mo·rose, adjective
  • su·per·mo·rose·ness, noun
  • un·mo·rose, adjective
  • un·mo·rose·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use morose in a sentence

  • Both were unaffectedly devout, without the least tinge of moroseness or gloom.

    The English Church in the Eighteenth Century | Charles J. Abbey and John H. Overton
  • As we rode on into the interminable wastes, he rallied me gleefully, but soon tired of my moroseness.

    The Yeoman Adventurer | George W. Gough
  • Instead of looking upon me with his usual moroseness, he said to me a hundred jocose things without my knowing what he meant.

  • Crossness and moroseness, for example, may be due to a dyspeptic condition and a chronically bad liver.

    The Science of Human Nature | William Henry Pyle
  • The pawnbroker made a very bad third—in fact, scarcely counted, owing to his own moroseness or reserve.

    Somehow Good | William de Morgan

British Dictionary definitions for morose

morose

/ (məˈrəʊs) /


adjective
  1. ill-tempered or gloomy

Origin of morose

1
C16: from Latin mōrōsus peevish, capricious, from mōs custom, will, caprice

Derived forms of morose

  • morosely, adverb
  • moroseness, noun

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