1 glum | Definition of glum
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glum

adjective
\ ˈgləm How to pronounce glum (audio) \
glummer; glummest

Definition of glum

1 : broodingly morose became glum when they heard the news
2 : dreary, gloomy a glum countenance
Other Words from glum Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about glum

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Other Words from glum

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

Examples of glum in a Sentence

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

 The mood is glum and resigned, but that means that Chance can’t rely on his own liveliness. — Jon Caramanica, BostonGlobe.com, "Chance the Rapper’s ‘Big Day’ is the sound of a happily married man," 31 July 2019 The mood is glum and resigned, but that means that Chance can’t rely on his own liveliness. — Jon Caramanica, BostonGlobe.com, "Chance the Rapper’s ‘Big Day’ is the sound of a happily married man," 31 July 2019 The mood is glum and resigned, but that means that Chance can’t rely on his own liveliness. — Jon Caramanica, New York Times, "Chance the Rapper’s Odes to Joy," 29 July 2019 Not everyone might share this view of a structure that, seen from outside along Diamond or Bosworth streets, has an undeniably glum look. — John King, SFChronicle.com, "Glen Park BART Station could soon be an official national treasure," 27 July 2019 Three friends, looking glum, low-energy, and thin, would say what they’d eaten recently. — Kaitlyn Tiffany, Vox, "Lean Cuisine doesn’t want to be part of diet culture anymore. Does it have a choice?," 24 July 2019 So, then, did one glum little scene in a Carnoustie car park. — Chuck Culpepper, The Denver Post, "Ireland’s Shane Lowry wins British Open in tournament’s return to Northern Ireland," 21 July 2019 And even the glum communist-era suburb of Petržalka, right across the Danube, has undergone a technicolor makeover. — Rick Steves, USA TODAY, "Rick Steves: Slovakia’s capital is the fastest-changing city in Europe with remarkable comeback," 2 July 2019 All in all, the members of San Antonio’s City Council looked pretty glum Monday afternoon. — Gilbert Garcia, ExpressNews.com, "San Antonio homestead exemption flies in the face of fiscal reality," 26 June 2019

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.

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First Known Use of glum

1547, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for glum

akin to Middle English gloumen to gloom

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More Definitions for glum

glum

adjective
How to pronounce glum (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of glum

: sad or depressed

See the full definition for glum in the English Language Learners Dictionary

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