Meaning & use
moping
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“moping” is a form of “mope”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbintransitiveinformaldisapproving
Present participle of mope: spending time feeling sad and doing little.
Grammar: No object; often followed by around or about: moping around the house.
Patterns
- mope around
- mope about
- mope over something
He spent the whole weekend moping around the house.
Stop moping and come outside with us.
She was moping over the lost game.
adjectivebefore a nouninformal
Showing sadness in a quiet, low-energy way.
Grammar: Sometimes used before a noun: a moping teenager.
Patterns
- a moping child
The moping puppy sat by the door all day.
Nobody liked the moping mood in the car.
Word forms
| base form | mope |
|---|---|
| third person singular | mopes |
| past tense | moped |
| past participle | moped |
Common combinations
- moping around
- He's been moping around since the trip was canceled.
- moping about the house
- Stop moping about the house and go for a walk.
- stop moping
- Stop moping and call her.
- moping over
- There's no use moping over a lost match.
- sit moping
- She sat moping on the steps.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sulking
- Sulking usually involves quiet anger and wanting others to notice, while moping is mostly sadness.
- brooding
- Brooding suggests heavy, dark thinking, whereas moping suggests low energy and self-pity.
- pining
- Pining means longing for a person or thing, which moping does not require.
- languishing
- Languishing is more formal and describes a long period of suffering, not just a sad mood.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: moping or mopping?
moping vs mopping
Mopping means cleaning a floor with a mop. It is unrelated to moping, which has one p and is about mood.
Practice
After losing the final, he spent the afternoon ___ around the house instead of going out.
Choose one answer.
Moping around describes quiet sadness. Mopping means cleaning, and moaning and mocking do not fit with around in this sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “moping”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.