GLUM Synonyms: 272 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'glum' different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of glum are crabbed , gloomy , morose , saturnine , sulky , sullen , and surly . While all these words mean "showing a forbidding or disagreeable mood," glum suggests a silent dispiritedness. // a glum candidate left to ponder a stunning defeat

Q: When is 'crabbed' a more appropriate choice than 'glum'?

Although the words crabbed and glum have much in common, crabbed applies to a forbidding morose harshness of manner. // the school's notoriously crabbed headmaster

Q: When can 'gloomy' be used instead of 'glum'?

In some situations, the words gloomy and glum are roughly equivalent. However, gloomy implies a depression in mood making for seeming sullenness or glumness. // a gloomy mood ushered in by bad news

Q: How do 'morose' and 'glum' relate to one another?

Morose adds to glum an element of bitterness or misanthropy. // morose job seekers who are inured to rejection

Q: When might 'saturnine' be a better fit than 'glum'?

While the synonyms saturnine and glum are close in meaning, saturnine describes a heavy forbidding aspect or suggests a bitter disposition. // a saturnine cynic always finding fault

Q: When is it sensible to use 'sulky' instead of 'glum'?

The words sulky and glum can be used in similar contexts, but sulky suggests childish resentment expressed in peevish sullenness. // grew sulky after every spat

Q: When would 'sullen' be a good substitute for 'glum'?

The meanings of sullen and glum largely overlap; however, sullen implies a silent ill humor and a refusal to be sociable. // remained sullen amid the festivities

Q: When could 'surly' be used to replace 'glum'?

The synonyms surly and glum are sometimes interchangeable, but surly implies gruffness and sullenness of speech or manner. // a typical surly teenager

glum

adjective

ˈgləm

Definition of glum

as in bleak

causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer the usual glum waiting room at the tax collector's office a cold, glum day

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in sad

feeling unhappiness how can you be glum after such a great day?

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in pouting

given to or displaying a resentful silence and often irritability a chronically glum and pouting child

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word glum different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of glum are crabbed, gloomy, morose, saturnine, sulky, sullen, and surly. While all these words mean "showing a forbidding or disagreeable mood," glum suggests a silent dispiritedness.

a glum candidate left to ponder a stunning defeat

When is crabbed a more appropriate choice than glum?

Although the words crabbed and glum have much in common, crabbed applies to a forbidding morose harshness of manner.

the school's notoriously crabbed headmaster

When can gloomy be used instead of glum?

In some situations, the words gloomy and glum are roughly equivalent. However, gloomy implies a depression in mood making for seeming sullenness or glumness.

a gloomy mood ushered in by bad news

How do morose and glum relate to one another?

Morose adds to glum an element of bitterness or misanthropy.

morose job seekers who are inured to rejection

When might saturnine be a better fit than glum?

While the synonyms saturnine and glum are close in meaning, saturnine describes a heavy forbidding aspect or suggests a bitter disposition.

a saturnine cynic always finding fault

When is it sensible to use sulky instead of glum?

The words sulky and glum can be used in similar contexts, but sulky suggests childish resentment expressed in peevish sullenness.

grew sulky after every spat

When would sullen be a good substitute for glum?

The meanings of sullen and glum largely overlap; however, sullen implies a silent ill humor and a refusal to be sociable.

remained sullen amid the festivities

When could surly be used to replace glum?

The synonyms surly and glum are sometimes interchangeable, but surly implies gruffness and sullenness of speech or manner.

a typical surly teenager

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of glum James Dolan is generally a glum courtside presence, with his arms folded grimly across his chest even on the most glorious of nights. — David Remnick, New Yorker, 11 June 2026 With Alicia still feeling glum over the car ride from hell, Rosie shows up to her house with pink balloons and flowers to cheer her up. — Tom Smyth, Vulture, 8 June 2026 All quiet There are two reasons why polling places were so quiet Tuesday, and perhaps why some poll workers were so glum. — Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 3 June 2026 In a funny touch of feminist commentary, the Pounds parents are intent on their bratty son Andrew (Hamnet survivor Jacobi Jupe) getting the best possible education but less bothered about glum daughter Drissila (Evie Templeton). — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for glum

Recent Examples of Synonyms for glum

Adjective

Although the news may be bleak for the dinner's thousands of supporters, the committee also shared a glimmer of hope.

— Bebe Hodges, Cincinnati Enquirer, 25 Aug. 2026
In many ways, her life feels like a bleak look at the false promise of placing all of your need for validation in your husband.

— Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of bleak

Adjective

That might also explain the movie’s attempts to supercharge its few action sequences, as if the filmmakers realized belatedly that a sad book without much incident wasn’t exactly prime summer studio release fodder.

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2026
Obviously, a really sad story and hard to listen to at times.

— Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of sad

Adjective

How skipping breakfast affects kids at school Nemours KidsHealth reports that kids who miss the morning meal often feel tired, restless or irritable by midmorning.

— Ashley Lynch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Aug. 2026
Skipping meals can negatively affect blood sugar levels and leave you feeling hungry, irritable, and unable to pay attention.

— Mira Miller, Verywell Health, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of irritable

Adjective

Davis was much more somber, and his attorney, Wayne Higgins, is heard frequently admonishing his client for volunteering unnecessary information.

— Taylor Romine, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026
Bookended by drone shots of the Macedonian countryside and a somber cello refrain by Novogradska, this 86-minute doc is otherwise composed of scoreless interviews with subjects seated in front of black curtains and captured in medium range.

— Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of somber

Adjective

Lindsay Clancy was depressed, prosecutor says During more than four weeks of testimony, jurors heard differing views from medical experts about Clancy’s mental state after Callan’s birth.

— Michael Casey, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2026
Many established theatrical distributors are also wary of the current depressed market for documentaries.

— Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of depressed

Adjective

Nights can be a sullen cycle of sleep, showering and opening a window — only to close it later to block out the urban noise.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026
The pilot is charming and funny, immediately drawing me into the dynamic of its two characters — Romy is a bit more gregarious and sarcastic, Bobby more sensitive and sullen.

— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 17 July 2026

Definition of sullen

Adjective

Garcia and fellow Democrats are mindful of what’s driving unhappy voters who face a vexing mix of inflation and weak economic growth.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
Sometimes kids performing things on TV look unhappy or awkward, but this girl seems to genuinely enjoy singing while her dad plays guitar.

— Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of unhappy

Browse Nearby Words

gluing

glum

glumly

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“Glum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/glum. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of glum

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