from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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.
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Solemn hymns so sullen dirges change. --Shak.
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3. Mischievous; malignant; unpropitious.
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Such sullen planets at my birth did shine. --Dryden.
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4. Gloomily angry and silent; cross; sour; affected with ill
humor; morose.
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And sullen I forsook the imperfect feast. --Prior.
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5. Obstinate; intractable.
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Things are as sullen as we are. --Tillotson.
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6. Heavy; dull; sluggish. "The larger stream was placid, and
even sullen, in its course." --Sir W. Scott.
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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.
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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.
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