Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of sullen

120 similar words · 4 opposite words

Another word for sullen is depressed. Other synonyms of sullen are miserable, unhappy, depressing, heavy-hearted and grim. The opposite of sullen is content.

Synonyms and similar words for sullen

adjectiveHaving a brooding ill temper; sulky.

  • sulkySilent and withdrawn after being upset.
  • moroseSullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour.
  • broody

adjectiveGloomy; dismal; foreboding.

  • forlornPitifully sad, wretched, miserable; lonely, especially from feeling abandoned, deserted, forsaken.
  • melancholyAffected with great sadness or depression.
  • cheerlessDevoid of cheer; gloomy.
  • comfortlessOf a thing: offering no comfort; uncomforting.
  • bleakUnhappy; cheerless; miserable; emotionally desolate.
  • darkWithout moral or spiritual light; sinister, malevolent, malign.
  • depressingCausing depression or sadness.
  • desolateDismal or dreary.
  • direWarning of bad consequences: ill-boding; portentous.
  • disconsolateCheerless, dreary.
  • dismalCausing despair; gloomy and bleak.
  • dolefulFilled with grief, mournful, bringing feelings of sadness.
  • dolesomeCharacterised or marked by sorrow and grief; doleful; dismal; gloomy.
  • drearDreary.
  • drearisomeCharacterised or marked by dreariness.
  • drearyDrab; dark, colorless, or cheerless.
  • dreich UK, dialectalBleak, cheerless, dismal, dreary, miserable.
  • gaylessLacking gaiety; gloomy; somber; drab.
  • grayDreary, gloomy, cloudy.
  • gloomsomeCharacterised or marked by gloom.
  • gloomySuffering from gloom; melancholy; dejected.
  • grimDismal and gloomy, cold and forbidding.
  • joylessWithout joy; unhappy, sad.
  • lack-laughterCheerless; sombre; serious.
  • lugubriousGloomy, mournful or dismal, especially to an exaggerated degree.
  • mirthlessLacking mirth; devoid of joy; sad.
  • miserableIn a state of misery: very sad, ill, or poor.
  • no joke
  • saturnineOf a person: having a tendency to be cold and gloomy.
  • somber
  • sombreDark; gloomy; shadowy, dimly lit.
  • spiritlessLacking energy, drive, motivation or emotion. Enervated.
  • sunlessDreary, cheerless.
  • uncheerfulNot cheerful.
  • uncheeryNot cheery; gloomy, pessimistic.
  • unhappyNot happy; sad.
  • unmerryNot merry, the opposite of merry; sad, gloomy.
  • wintryChilling, cheerless.
  • woefulFull of woe; sorrowful; distressed with grief or calamity.
  • atrabiliary
  • atrabilious
  • blithelessWithout happiness or joy; unjoyful; sorrowful; sad.
  • dispiritedWithout energy, gusto or drive, enervated, without the will to accomplish, disheartened.
  • blueDepressed, melancholic, sad.
  • bummed outDepressed, disappointed, in a gloomy mood.
  • chapfallenCrestfallen, dejected.
  • chopfallenSynonym of chapfallen.
  • crestfallen
  • cut up Australia, UKEmotionally upset; mentally distressed.
  • damp figuratively
  • dejectedSad and dispirited.
  • depressedUnhappy; despondent.
  • despondentIn low spirits from loss of hope or courage.
  • disgruntledIn a dissatisfied, frustrated, or upset mood; in a bad temper or ill humour.
  • disheartenedDiscouraged, despairing.
  • downSad, unhappy, depressed, feeling low.
  • down in the dumpsSad; lacking engagement or enthusiasm.
  • down in the mouthSad or discouraged, especially as indicated by one's facial appearance.
  • downcastOf a person: feeling despondent or discouraged.
  • downheartedSad, discouraged, in low spirits, unhappy, having no hope.
  • downsomeLow-spirited; melancholy.
  • dullSluggish, listless.
  • elegiacExpressing sorrow or mourning.
  • elegiousMelancholy, miserable, plaintive.
  • glumDespondent; moody; sullen.
  • grief-strickenVery sad.
  • grievingFeeling or showing sorrow or distress due to loss, especially the death of someone.
  • heavy-heartedSad, melancholic.
  • heartsoreHeartsick.
  • heartsickVery despondent or sorrowful; heartsore.
  • inconsolableNot consolable; unable to be consoled or comforted, usually due to grief, disappointment, or other distress.
  • infelicitous
  • jawfallenDejected, dispirited.
  • lachrymoseTearful, sorrowful, sad, pertaining to tears, weeping, causing tears or crying.
  • lowDepressed in mood, dejected, sad.
  • low-spiritedDisheartened, feeling low, in low spirits.
  • melancholicFilled with or affected by melancholy—great sadness or depression, especially of a thoughtful or introspective nature.
  • moodySulky or depressed.
  • mopeyGiven to moping; in a depressed condition, low in spirits; lackadaisical.
  • mournfulFilled with grief or sadness; being in a state in which one mourns.
  • plaintiveSounding sorrowful, mournful or melancholic.
  • PlutonianOf, relating to, or having characteristics associated with the underworld; dark, gloomy; mournful.
  • PlutonicSynonym of Plutonian (“of, relating to, or having characteristics associated with the underworld; dark, gloomy...
  • querulousOften complaining; suggesting a complaint in expression; fretful, whining.
  • ruthfulFull of sorrow; sorrowful; woeful; rueful.
  • sad
  • saddened
  • shatteredEmotionally defeated or dispirited.
  • solemnCheerless, gloomy, sombre.
  • sorrowfulExhibiting sorrow; dejected; distraught; sad. (of a person).
  • sorrow-riddenFilled with sorrow or sorrows.
  • sorrowsomeMarked by sorrow; sad; dreary; sorrowful.
  • threneticSorrowful; mournful.
  • threneticalThrenetic.
  • unconsolableSynonym of inconsolable.
  • unlivelyNot lively.
  • wistfulSad and thoughtful.
  • woebegoneOf a person: deeply affected or overwhelmed by suffering or trouble, and so filled with woe (“great distress or...
  • wretchedCharacterized by or feeling deep affliction or distress; very miserable.
  • lamentful rareReplete with lamentation; mournful.
  • lumpish obsoleteMiserable, sad.
  • passionate obsolete
  • triste rareSad; sorrowful; gloomy.
  • tristful archaicSad, melancholic.
  • woe obsoleteWoeful; sorrowful.

adjectiveSluggish; slow.

Opposite of sullen

adjectiveHaving a brooding ill temper; sulky.

Meaning of sullen

  1. adjective Having a brooding ill temper; sulky.
  2. adjective Gloomy; dismal; foreboding.
  3. adjective Sluggish; slow.

Full definition of sullen

sullen in other languages

Questions about synonyms of sullen

What is another word for sullen?
Sullen has 120 synonyms on Word.ws, such as depressed, miserable, unhappy, depressing, heavy-hearted, grim, dire and slow-moving.
What is the opposite of sullen?
The opposite of sullen is content.
What does sullen mean?
Sullen means having a brooding ill temper; sulky.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: sullen (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Synonyms of sullen.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/sullen. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.