dourness

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The dourness of “The Complex” is, I think, supposed to indicate the book’s serious intentions.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026

The dourness of Nolan’s “Dark Knight” films has often been overstated, often to the neglect of their hurtling narrative velocity, impish wit and gorgeously enveloping images.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2022

To his exasperation, the audience loved it all - his dourness, his deadpan answers, his low-key frustration at being trapped in a 21st Century Kafkaesque nightmare.

From BBC • May 5, 2021

Though the Bible readings through this period warn against performing dourness for the sake of impressing people with your piety, the church itself goes stark: rough, burlaplike vestments instead of shiny finery; no “alleluias.”

From New York Times • Mar. 12, 2019

Institutional dourness and cheerful domesticity coexist on the fourth floor of the Finney County Courthouse.

From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote