- Sullenly
- 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).
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2. Gloomy; dismal; foreboding. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
Solemn hymns so sullen dirges change. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
3. Mischievous; malignant; unpropitious. [1913 Webster]
Such sullen planets at my birth did shine. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
4. Gloomily angry and silent; cross; sour; affected with ill humor; morose. [1913 Webster]
And sullen I forsook the imperfect feast. --Prior. [1913 Webster]
5. Obstinate; intractable. [1913 Webster]
Things are as sullen as we are. --Tillotson. [1913 Webster]
6. Heavy; dull; sluggish. ``The larger stream was placid, and even sullen, in its course.'' --Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
No cheerful breeze this sullen region knows; The dreaded east is all the wind that blows. --Pope. [1913 Webster] -- {Sul"len*ly}, adv. -- {Sul"len*ness}, n. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.