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sullennessmore about sullenness

sullenness


  2  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Sullen  \Sul"len\,  a.  [OE.  solein,  solain,  lonely,  sullen; 
  through  Old  French  fr  (assumed)  LL  solanus  solitary,  fr  L. 
  solus  alone.  See  {Sole},  a.] 
  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},  adv  --  {Sul"len*ness},  n. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  sullenness 
  n  1:  a  gloomy  ill-tempered  feeling  [syn:  {moroseness},  {glumness}] 
  2:  a  sullen  moody  resentful  disposition  [syn:  {sulkiness},  {moroseness}, 
  {sourness}] 




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