Meaning & use
moroseness
Last updated
UK/məˈrəʊsnəs/
US/məˈroʊsnəs/
Meaning
noununcountable
A bad-tempered, gloomy state in which someone is unhappy, silent, and unwilling to be cheerful or friendly.
Grammar: No plural and no a: his moroseness lasted for days.
Patterns
- moroseness about something
- a mood of moroseness
His moroseness at breakfast made everyone else quiet.
A deep moroseness settled over the house after the news.
She tried to shake off her moroseness by going for a long walk.
Common combinations
- deep moroseness
- His deep moroseness worried his friends.
- sink into moroseness
- After losing the job he sank into moroseness.
- a sense of moroseness
- A sense of moroseness hung over the team.
- shake off moroseness
- It took her weeks to shake off her moroseness.
Synonyms and how they differ
- gloominess
- Plainer and can describe a place or mood, while moroseness is about a person's sullen temper.
- sullenness
- Stresses silent resentment, often showing anger as well as unhappiness.
- melancholy
- Softer and more poetic, suggesting thoughtful sadness rather than bad temper.
Opposites
Word family
Practice
His ___ at the party, shown by his silence and frown, kept others away.
Choose one answer.
Moroseness means a sullen, gloomy mood, which matches silence and frowning. The other nouns describe positive or unrelated qualities.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “moroseness”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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