Home British & World English sulk

Definition of sulk in English:

sulk

verb

[no object]

  • Be silent, morose, and bad-tempered out of annoyance or disappointment.

    ‘he was sulking over the break-up of his band’
    • ‘With that the writer returned to his seat and didn't write for another 10 minutes as he was sulking.’
    • ‘As the Sparks made a celebratory jaunt off the court, the Storm players dipped their heads and sulked into the locker room.’
    • ‘And after heated arguments and manic flicking through the pages of the dictionary, I lost the game, and sulked.’
    • ‘It took forever to get home again, and I sulked all the way.’
    • ‘She cried and stomped her foot and sulked because I had won.’
    • ‘So I sulked throughout the entire carol service and nativity play, and stomped around behaving like my own little storm cloud.’
    • ‘I collapsed on a park bench and sulked for a while, contemplated bawling but I didn't have the energy.’
    • ‘He sulked and could get nasty if he did not get his own way.’
    • ‘I sat and sulked for a while, then we started talking about something else.’
    • ‘Indeed, I recall I was soon moved to a different class, where I sulked for the best part of a year.’
    • ‘During dinner he sat and sulked and after a while he wandered off by himself.’
    • ‘I sulked all the way there and then secretly slipped away and made my way back to the sea front and the fun park.’
    • ‘Ron was sulking in one of the armchairs and Hermione was sitting on the other bed looking concerned.’
    • ‘The score was five to two, the San Francisco team was losing, and she was sulking.’
    • ‘When he does not like what is happening, he either sulks or throws tantrums.’
    • ‘Let's hope Branch and Jensen aren't sulking at each other seven days hence.’
    • ‘His only begotten son sulks in his room listening to angst rock over Easter.’
    • ‘He pouts and sulks, but achieves moments of inspired brilliance.’
    • ‘Just anecdotal, but the way my dog sulks every time I pull out my suitcase and start packing tells me there is more than instinct driving their behavior.’
    • ‘Even this season that represents the death of the garden is a vital one for our Japanese gardener, while our western gardener sulks until spring.’
    mope, brood, pout, be sullen, have a long face, be in a bad mood, be put out, be out of sorts, be out of humour, be grumpy, be despondent, be moody, be resentful, pine, harbour a grudge, eat one's heart out, moon about, moon around
    View synonyms

noun

  • A period of sulking.

    ‘she was in a fit of the sulks’
    • ‘After much badgering and a spectacular case of the sulks, Mum admitted defeat, unlocked the safe and sent us to a proper barber shop.’
    • ‘Summer decided to take the day off today, turning over to a chill, grey, rainy fit of the sulks.’
    • ‘He had been warned by one of his aides that the cameras were panting to snap any display of the sulks.’
    • ‘Adam, still in the sulks, was waiting outside the office door.’
    • ‘As soon as a person hears the word rebellion one immediately paints a picture of sulks and tantrums and unreasonable behavior.’
    • ‘I shall send my whining up to the god of sulks and tantrums, and see what happens.’
    • ‘Putting up with sulks and tantrums after a straight sets defeat or a poor innings go with the territory for the wives of sportsmen.’
    • ‘He indulged my sulks and pouts, bought candy necklaces for me from the corner store.’
    • ‘It was a dispassionate declaration, said serenely, not in the heat of a tantrum or the cool spite of a sulk.’
    • ‘It was a fascinating programme because of the extent to which the daughter refused to face reality and there were plenty of tantrums and sulks.’
    • ‘Kids only enjoy this nonsense because adults don't understand it and any parent who pretends to have it sussed deserves the weeks of sulks, slammed doors and interminable sighing that will inevitably follow.’
    • ‘This accounts for the curious recursion and exponentialism in their arguments - each stupid, petty point leads to a hundred other miniscule sulks, misrepresentations and so on.’
    • ‘Elsewhere in the Kingdom they've been having major thunderstorms and torrential downpours so I'm not going to complain when all we've had is a long case of the metereological sulks.’
    • ‘It makes no difference how much the other might desire it, the issue is closed, with no recriminations, no sulks, no argument, just the simple acceptance of the other's view.’
    • ‘Yes, the way I am there will probably be initial sulks every time a new situation pops up but then I can adjust and move on.’
    • ‘There can be no sulks, no horrendous body language on the court, no blaming other people for defeat.’
    • ‘When his first article appeared (minus about 400 words of filler) under his Sunday name of Darius Danesh, he went into a protracted sulk.’
    • ‘I've always had issues with plays, although I think that's probably because I went into a prolonged sulk in the mid 1990s when some of my plays were turned down!’
    • ‘But for five years he went into a colossal sulk, blaming his problems on ‘the curse of being lower middle class’ and refusing to give interviews.’
    • ‘In the meantime, carry on with your sulk if you wish.’
    bad mood, fit of bad humour, fit of ill humour, fit of pique, pet, mood, pout, temper, bad temper, the sulks, the doldrums, the blues
    View synonyms

Origin

Late 18th century perhaps a back-formation from sulky.

Pronunciation

sulk

/sʌlk/