morose

[muh-rohs] / məˈroʊs /

ADJECTIVE

depressed, pessimistic

Synonyms

STRONGEST

cranky dour gloomy glum grouchy melancholy mournful sad sullen surly testy ugly

WEAK

acrimonious blue brusque cantankerous choleric churlish crabbed crabby cross dolorous down down in the dumps down in the mouth frowning gruff harsh having blue devils having the blahs ill-humored ill-tempered in a bad mood in a blue funk irritable low moody moping perverse perversive saturnine singing the blues snappish sour splenetic sulky taciturn troubled

Antonyms

STRONGEST

bright cheerful content gentle happy joyful pleasant

WEAK

friendly light-hearted optimistic uplifted

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.

A morose horse, rice cakes, and a Harry Potter villain have become surprise hits in China ahead of the country's Lunar New Year holiday.

From Barron's • Feb. 5, 2026

And the album’s closer, the pretty but slow “Silent Eyes,” feels like another morose nail in the coffin of a relationship.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 27, 2025

For starters, some chronic oversavers can be anxious and morose.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 24, 2025

He clicked on another photo — a young girl, her head turned to the side, with a morose expression on her face.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 25, 2025

“Uh-oh,” her father teased, “here comes Miss Hang Crepe, morose as ever.”

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

Vocabulary lists containing morose

The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 2

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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone

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Animal Farm

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