 |
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Sullen \Sul"len\, adjective [OE. solein, solain, lonely, sullen; through Old French fr. (assumed) LL. solanus solitary, fr. L. solus alone. See {Sole}, adjective]
1. Lonely; solitary; desolate. [Obs.] --Wyclif (Job iii. 14).
2. Gloomy; dismal; foreboding. --Milton.
Solemn hymns so sullen dirges change. --Shak.
3. Mischievous; malignant; unpropitious.
Such sullen planets at my birth did shine. --Dryden.
4. Gloomily angry and silent; cross; sour; affected with ill humor; morose.
And sullen I forsook the imperfect feast. --Prior.
5. Obstinate; intractable.
Things are as sullen as we are. --Tillotson.
6. Heavy; dull; sluggish. ''The larger stream was placid, and even sullen, in its course.'' --Sir W. Scott.
Syn: Sulky; sour; cross; ill-natured; morose; peevish; fretful; ill-humored; petulant; gloomy; malign; intractable.
Usage: {Sullen}, {Sulky}. Both sullen and sulky show themselves in the demeanor. Sullenness seems to be an habitual sulkiness, and sulkiness a temporary sullenness. The former may be an innate disposition; the latter, a disposition occasioned by recent injury. Thus we are in a sullen mood, and in a sulky fit.
No cheerful breeze this sullen region knows; The dreaded east is all the wind that blows. --Pope. -- {Sul"len*ly}, adverb -- {Sul"len*ness}, noun
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
sullenness
noun
1: a gloomy ill-tempered feeling [syn: {moroseness}, {glumness}]
2: a sullen moody resentful disposition [syn: {sulkiness}, {moroseness}, {sourness}]
 |
Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |