sullen

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.

In 1996, David Keating cast her as Cathleen, the boisterous mother to a sullen teenager played by Jared Leto in “The Last of the High Kings.”

From Salon • Feb. 4, 2026

He said the teenager came across as an "unremarkable, sullen, untalkative, gawky teenage boy" during their sessions together.

From BBC • Oct. 20, 2025

Those sullen teens trailing their parents toward the taco truck—why the hooded sweatshirts in 84-degree heat and 72-percent humidity?

From Slate • Aug. 13, 2025

You never know how she’s going to react and while her large eyes are often sullen and sad, her expression unreadable, Dyrholm’s are wide and bright, verging on the edge of mania.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 6, 2024

He didn’t bring the water-jug till Uncle Henry shouted at him three or four times, and then he was sullen.

From "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder