Meanings
comparative more morose · comparative moroser · superlative most morose · superlative morosest
- Sullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour.
If there is any boy or man who loves to be melancholy and morose, and who cannot enter with kindly sympathy into the regions of fun, let me seriously advise him to shut my book and put it away. It is not meant for him.
1857, R. M. Ballantyne, The Coral Island1 more example
My skin is cold / Transfusion with somebody / Morose and old / Drop into fruitless dying / It was tempting and bared / The whoring angel rising / Now burning prayers / My silent time of losing / My foes, they can't destroy my body / Colliding slow, like life itself
1996, “10's”, in The Great Southern Trendkill, performed by PanteraSynonyms: melancholy, sulky, crabby, glum, grouchy, gruff, moody, glum
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveSullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveshowing a brooding ill humor
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinmōrōsus“particular, scrupulous, fastidious, self-willed, wayward, capricious, fretful, peevish”
- Frenchmorose
- Englishmorose
From French morose, from Latin mōrōsus (“particular, scrupulous, fastidious, self-willed, wayward, capricious, fretful, peevish”), from mōs (“way, custom, habit, self-will”). See moral.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian мрачен, навъсен
- мрачен (mračen)sullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- навъсен (navăsen)sullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
Chinese Mandarin 鬱悶 /郁闷
- 鬱悶 /郁闷 (yùmèn)sullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
Czech mrzutý, rozmrzelý
- mrzutýsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- rozmrzelýsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- zasmušilýsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- protivnýsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- rozladěnýsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- nerudnýsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- nabručenýsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- nevrlýsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
Danish melankolsk, sørgmodig
- melankolsksullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- sørgmodigsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- mismodigsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- tværsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
Dutch nors, mismoedig
- norssullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- mismoedigsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
Finnish yrmeä, näreä
- yrmeäsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- näreäsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- äreäsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- nyreäsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
French sombre, morose
- sombresullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- morosesullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
German verdrießlich, missmutig
- verdrießlichsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- missmutigsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- morossullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
Greek σκυθρωπός
- σκυθρωπός (skythropós)sullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
Hungarian zord
- zordsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
Irish púiceach
- púiceachsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
Korean 시무룩하다
- 시무룩하다 (simurukhada)sullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
Latin tristis, maestus
- tristissullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- maestussullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
Māori haumāruru
- haumārurusullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
Persian عبوس
- عبوس (abus)sullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
Polish ponury, posępny
- ponurysullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- posępnysullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
Portuguese taciturno
- taciturnosullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
Romanian morocănos, moros
- morocănossullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- morossullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- ursuzsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
Russian угрю́мый, мра́чный
- угрю́мый (ugrjúmyj)sullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- мра́чный (mráčnyj)sullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
Scottish Gaelic gruamach
- gruamachsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
Slovak rozmrzený, nevrlý
- rozmrzenýsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- nevrlýsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- mrzutýsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
Spanish malhumorado
- malhumoradosullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
Turkish kederli, bunlu
- kederlisullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- bunlusullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
- hüzünlüsullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with morose
Anagrams
Cite this entry
morose. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/morose
“morose.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/morose. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “morose,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/morose.
Source: morose on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.