rhizoverbBeta
DictionarymoroseGloomy and bad-tempered
adjective

morose

muh-ROHSS/məˈrəʊs/

Unhappy and bad-tempered.

He sits hunched on the bench with a morose expression.

A young man sits hunched and withdrawn at one end of a bench, arms tightly crossed, chin lowered and mouth set in a sour scowl.
Etymology
morLatinhabit, disposition
+oseLatinfull of

The root concerns habits or disposition, but Latin morosus gave it a negative turn: peevish, fastidious, or hypercritical. English preserves that sour disposition in the sense “sullen and ill-tempered.”

In context

Storytime Haven76:26
leading a solitary morose life, eating and sleeping alone,
🌑 The Moon Rock 🌒 | A Haunting Tale of Mystery and Ambition by Arthur J. Rees

More examples

  • A morose silence settled over the table.
  • She tried to cheer her morose companion.
  • The character answers every friendly question with a morose grunt.

Forms

morose · more morose · most morose

morosely adverb — in a gloomy and bad-tempered manner

Similar words

sullen
Sullen suggests resentful silence; morose combines gloom with bad temper.
glum
Glum is quietly unhappy; morose often adds an unfriendly or sour mood.