glum

adjective

ˈgləm

glummer; glummest

: broodingly morose

became glum when they heard the news

: dreary, gloomy

a glum countenance

glumly adverb

glumness noun

Choose the Right Synonym for glum

sullen, glum, morose, surly, sulky, crabbed, saturnine, gloomy mean showing a forbidding or disagreeable mood.

sullen implies a silent ill humor and a refusal to be sociable.

remained sullen amid the festivities

glum suggests a silent dispiritedness.

a glum candidate left to ponder a stunning defeat

morose adds to glum an element of bitterness or misanthropy.

morose job seekers who are inured to rejection

surly implies gruffness and sullenness of speech or manner.

a typical surly teenager

sulky suggests childish resentment expressed in peevish sullenness.

grew sulky after every spat

crabbed applies to a forbidding morose harshness of manner.

the school's notoriously crabbed headmaster

saturnine describes a heavy forbidding aspect or suggests a bitter disposition.

a saturnine cynic always finding fault

gloomy implies a depression in mood making for seeming sullenness or glumness.

a gloomy mood ushered in by bad news

Example Sentences

There's no need to look so glum—things will get better soon. There was a glum silence in the room.

Recent Examples on the Web Republicans are favored to flip at least one chamber in Congress, and most Democrats have become increasingly glum about their party’s prospects.

Melanie Mason And Seema Mehta, Anchorage Daily News, 6 Nov. 2022 Individual investors are feeling particularly glum.

Karen Langley, WSJ, 30 Sep. 2022 Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s characterization of the road ahead for the U.S. economy has become increasingly glum since the start of the year.

Will Daniel, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2022 But Fraser doesn’t play him with a heavy, glum, downbeat vibe.

Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 4 Sep. 2022 The glum economic mood — especially around gas prices — also poses a huge political issue for the Biden administration going into the midterm elections.

Rachel Siegel, Washington Post, 27 July 2022 This book on the plight of coral reefs spikes the normally glum discourse about ocean conservation with a measure of capitalist techno-optimism, arguing that a combination of marine science and smart business could yet bring salvation.

The New Yorker, 30 May 2022 For the most part, though, the capital soon settled back into a familiar, glum routine of making do with far too little.

Pamela Constable, Washington Post, 11 Aug. 2022 But the mood among many is glum in the face of a new threat: censorship.

Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 11 Aug. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'glum.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.